


Six and the Desperados

by QuietMadness



Category: Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Smut, Explicit Language, F/M, Memory Loss, Slow Burn, arcade sings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2018-02-05
Packaged: 2018-12-06 12:42:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 46,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11600901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuietMadness/pseuds/QuietMadness
Summary: Six is trying to balance finding out who she is while hunting down the Suit who shot her. Throw in the companions, their problems, along with all of the Mojave and shenanigans ensue.





	1. Pieces

Dirt. It’s the first thing her mind noticed as she came to. Coating her tongue, the acrid, sandy dirt made her want to gag. The voices around her kept her quiet. There was also an odd metallic sound. She pulled herself up as her vision swam, twisting the ropes around her gloved hands.

 

“Guess who’s waking up over here?”

 

 She blinked as her eyes focused more, and was instantly greeted by a nauseating pattern. Anyone wearing a checkered suit out here was just asking to be killed and robbed. Her eyes were drawn to the two men on either side of the Suit. They set her teeth on edge, both wearing identical sneers.

 

“Time to cash out.” Suit exhaled a cloud of smoke, stamping out his lit cigarette into the ground and then walked toward her.

 

“Would you get it over with?”

 

“Maybe Kahns kill people without looking them in the face, but I ain’t a fink, dig?” Kahns. Shit. Reaching into his jacket, Suit pulled out the chip she had been charged with delivering. His words sunk in. Off to the side, the shallow grave they had dug. Double shit.

 

“You’ve made your last delivery kid. Sorry you got twisted up in this scene.” Suit replaced the chip and withdrew a smaller handgun, even more obnoxious than his checkered garb. 9mm.

 

“From where you’re kneeling it must seem like an 18-carat run of bad luck. Truth is,” he aimed it at her, as she tried to get her feet beneath her, “the game was rigged from the start.” No, she was not going to die on her knees. Except she did.

 

A pained groan woke her, startling her as she realized it was coming from her own mouth. As if on cue, the throbbing that had woken her up gained intensity. She was sure she could hear garbled words off to her left. There was something stuck to the side of her face. She reached up with weak fingers to pry it off.

 

“Whoa easy there. Easy. You’ve been out cold a couple of days now. Why don’t you just relax a second and get your bearings.” Her eyes focused on an older, balding man sitting on a chair across the cot she was laying on. A couple of days? What the fuck?

 

“Let’s see what the damage is. How about your name? Can you tell me your name?” She sat up, swinging her legs over. She was dressed in baggy shorts and a tank top that was a bit tight across the chest, so she was guessing they were not hers. The man put his arms out as if he expected her to fall. Waving him away impatiently, she put her elbows on her knees, lacing her fingers together. Her name. Her name was… she tried to pull the information up, demanding a word from her memories. Everyone has a name. She knows she has one. It’s there, buried beneath- a pulse of pain makes her wince and press a finger to the bridge of her nose, pinching hard. The man across from her was patient, which she appreciated immensely.

 

She willed herself to think, recalling the most recent memory and working back from there. The pain, voices discussing killing her, the ugliest goddamn suit she has ever seen. _Further back, go further back._ Hands giving her a package that crinkled. Dark, weathered hands where the rest of the pinky finger of the left hand was missing after the third knuckle. She hadn’t even paid attention to his face, she was looking at a mangled mess of an eye bot he had on counter, thinking she would have to ask him about it when she came back. She was coming back. Anything past that was blank darkness. Something tugged at her, like a hair you swear is on your arm but you cannot find it. She was coming back. A deep, kind voice.

 

“See you soon, Courier Six.” Six. That was a… terrible name. Surely it wasn’t hers. Was it? Given that it was the best she had at the moment, she rolled with it.

 

“Six. My name is Six.” The man looked at her in concern, fingers scratching through his white mustache.

 

“Huh. Can’t say it’s what I’d have picked for you, but if that’s your name, that’s your name. I’m Doc Mitchell. Welcome to Goodsprings.” Goodsprings. That was… an old mining town. She had skirted it before, assuming it was one of the many ghost towns that peppered the Mojave this far west. How could she remember that and not her name? It seemed the more she tried to think, the more her head pounded. She pinched the bridge of her nose again, a sigh escaping. Doc Mitchell continued on.

 

“Now, I hope you don’t mind, but I had to go rooting around there in your noggin to pull all the bits of lead out. Your bones seem to be a bit denser than normal. I guess some radiation changes are positive. I take pride in my needle work, but you are still going to have an impressive scar my dear.” She groaned inwardly, wondering how much of her damage was from the bullet Suit gave her and how much was the good doctor rooting around.

 

Doc Mitchell stood up and grabbed a mirror on the dresser behind him, handing it to her. Six stared into it, willing recognition. She had dark blue hair and skin that was relatively smooth outside of the scars she could see here and there. It looked like she had been involved in a knife fight or two. One scar bisected her right eyebrow, smooth tissue refusing to allow hair to grow in the thin line, continuing partially down into her cheek. She pulled off the bandage carefully after parting her hair to the side. The hair here was shaved, skin tightly puckered together with enough stitches she wondered if he had to sacrifice a sweater. She would have to check with someone else, because this did not seem like good stitch work to her eyes. She gently prodded the wound with her fingers, swallowing the gasp of pain. The stranger staring back at her was beginning to unnerve her terribly, so she set the mirror down on the cot after using her hair to cover up the worst of the scarring.

 

“No sense keeping you in bed anymore. Let’s see if we can get you on your feet.” The doctor kneeled down, helping her to a standing position. Aside from a brief swimming in her vision, she was alright.

 

“Good. Now, why don’t you walk down to the end of the room? Take it slow now, it ain’t a race.” Doc Mitchell stepped away from her, but stayed close enough to catch her in case she fell.  Her first step was an awkward shuffle, but the second one was steadier. By the third, she was confident and picked up pace, reaching the end of the room and turning back to face Doc. Some of her muscles seemed tired, but they would catch up quickly. She always had strong legs, that much she was sure of.

 

“Well, that was a bit of a rough start, but you picked up at the end. After what you’ve been through I’d say that’s great news.” He gestured for her to follow him into the next room.

 

“How about you take a seat on my couch and we’ll go through a couple of questions. See if all of your dogs are still barking.” Resisting the urge to roll her eyes at the man who was being extremely kind, she followed him to the couch. The questions were odd. He asked her to say the first thing that came to her mind when he gave her a word. Six complied, feeling childish. Dog, cat. House, shelter. Night, shroud. Bandit, Swiss cheese. Light, dark. Mother, genes. He asked a few more questions, then asked if she was tired. Six’s yawn was the response. Doc lead her down a hall, handed her the few items she had on her person, and opened a door to an apparently unused bedroom. He said he would bring her back something to eat, then closed the door behind him.

 

Six sat on the bed, going through her things. A pair of work boots, cargo pants, underclothes, faded grey T-shirt, and a tan hooded Brahmin jacket. A 9mm that had seen better days and 50 bullets between the extra clips in a small pack. Four stimpacks, a screwdriver and some bobby pins. A few personal essentials. 20 caps. Shit, that was going to be a problem. There was a quiet knock at the door, and when she opened it Doc Mitchell was standing there with a tray that had some stew in a bowl. Her stomach rumbled angrily, reminding her she had no idea when she had last eaten. Suspicion bubble up immediately before she stamped it down. The man had already had plenty of time to kill her if he was interested in doing so.

 

Doc handed her another small pack after she took the soup and spoon he offered. She thought he was going to leave as he set the tray down, and instead he withdrew something that looked like a glove and seemed vaguely familiar, setting it on the bed next to the pack. Then he placed a note in her hands.

 

“I hope you don’t mind, I gave the note a look. I thought it might help me find a next of kin. But it was just something about a platinum chip.” Six nodded, tucking the note away. More clues to figure out what the hell was going on.

 

“Since you’re going back out there, I figured you should have this. They call it a Pip-Boy. I grew up in one of them vaults they made before the war. We all got one. Ain’t much use to me now, but you might want such a thing, after what you been through. I know what it’s like, having something taken from you.” Sadness weighed heavily on the man, and Six stopped shoveling food into her mouth for a moment. She felt as if she should say something, but was unsure as to what. The opportunity to give comfort slipped away as Doc straightened his shoulders up.

 

“I figured you’d be wanting to head out in the mornin’. You should talk to Sunny Smiles, before you leave town. She can help you learn to fend for yourself in the desert, maybe how to not get shot again. She hangs around the saloon. There’s the metal fella too, Victor, who pulled you out of the grave you were dumped in. Anyway, you ever get hurt out there, you come right back, I’ll fix you up again. But try not to get killed anymore. Everyone’s luck runs out some time.”

 

“What do I owe you Doc? You had quite a mess to clean up by the sounds of it.” She reached for the caps, but he waved her away.

 

“Maybe just keep the head trauma to a minimum next time, ok Six? A little kindness never hurt anything, so consider this mine to you. I’ll let you rest. See me before you leave and I’ll fix you some breakfast maybe?” Six realized that the man sounded hopeful. Going over in her mind what she had seen in the house, it seemed he lived alone. Lonely. She smiled and nodded as he took his leave. Six packed up what little she owned and got dressed, brushing her teeth with her finger and a bit of some homemade toothpaste. She fiddled with the Pip-Boy, finding it easy enough to navigate and being pleasantly surprised to find it caught a radio station. As she drifted, the low voice of the singer’s words swirled in her mind. _The difficult I’ll do right now; the impossible will take a little while._ Find the suit, empty a clip into him, drop off the package and figure out who the hell she is.

“Just a little while,” she whispered, sleep finally gripping her and pulling her down beneath the dark wastes.

 

 

                                                                                                                                                   * * *

Six woke a few hours later, gathering her things while it was still dark. Cracking the door, she could hear the quiet sound of snoring a from the room down the hall. Her hand was just about to close on the knob to the front door when guilt cemented her feet to the floor. Heading back to the kitchen, she rummaged until she found some sugar bombs. She set out a bowl and spoon next to the box, taking the time to pen a note on one of the medical clipboards Doc had stacked on the kitchen.

 

_When I get back, I'll fix you breakfast. Until then._

_-Six_

Unable to spare much, Six dropped five caps onto the note, then left out the front door, pulling it silently shut behind her. All of her careful maneuvering was nearly undone when a loud “Howdy pardner!” was squawked a few feet to her side. Instantly Six had whirled into a crouch, aiming her gun. After a moment, she remembered the Pip-Boy and turned on the light. Towering over her was a Securitron with a cowboy image on the screen.

 

“I nearly shot you, Tin Can!”

 

“Well that’s not terribly polite, especially seein’ as how I was just being friendly. Say, wait a minute. You’re the gal I dragged out of the grave up in the cemetery! Might I say, you’re looking fit as a fiddle!”

 

“Yeah, Doc Mitchell does some good work. Thanks for pulling me out of the grave then.”

 

“Don’t mention it, I’m always ready to lend a helping hand to a stranger in need. And might I say thank you for not shooting me. That always puts a damper on things!” Six holstered her 9 and relaxed slightly, asking the Securitron a few questions before he advised her to ask the townsfolk about the men who attacked her. Sighing her annoyance, Six walked to the saloon to do just that.

 

Hours later, after being roped into helping Sunny, carrying some crates for Easy Pete, and even fixing Trudy’s damn radio, Six still had no lead but a good amount of extra caps. Which she refused to spend at Chet’s scam of a general store. The two of them had argued over the prices he was charging for ammo before Six threw her arms up and stomped out in a fit. On her way past the saloon, Easy Pete had beckoned her over, and brought up that Primm was home to the Mojave Express building. Perhaps she would find information there the people of Goodsprings did not have. Six said goodbye to Sunny and slipped a bit of gecko jerky to Cheyenne before setting out. Thankfully Doc had not come down from his house. That would have been awkward.

 

As she crested a hill in her southeastern trek, the town of Goodsprings sprawled before her. Small, and written off by most others, but there were those who were stubbornly scraping a living out of the barren landscape. The houses closer to her were in the worst shape, several abandoned and falling into themselves. From here she could make out one of the wild bighorner herds just north of the main clutch of houses. Unbidden, plans began to form in her mind. Repair of the school house, adding to the herd Easy Pete had started, giving Doc a proper building and supplies to work with…..

 

Six shook her head, trying to cast the thoughts aside. Trudy was in charge, and if she wanted things fixed up she would handle it. The thoughts refused to leave though, and as Six made her way toward Primm the ideas grew.

 

                                                                                                                                                                         * * *

The decrepit roller coaster track rose out of Primm, looking so much like the sun bleached spines of things long dead in the Mojave. The image combined with the absolute quiet had Six on edge as she observed from the top of a pair of rocks. Her binoculars showed the group of NCR tents on the outskirts of the town, but she saw no movement from either area. With a loud sigh, she slid down to the desert floor and headed toward the NCR tents. She spotted the NCR trooper before he saw her, clearing her throat to get his attention. He pulled his rifle from his back and whirled, training on her with wide eyes. Scared eyes. Six held her hands up.

 

“Primm is off limits civilian. You’ll have to go around.”

 

“Why is it off limits?” The trooper dropped the barrel of his gun as he decided she wasn’t a threat. She listened as he explained about the Powder Gangers moving in to Primm.

 

“So, why isn’t the NCR storming the town and taking it back?”

 

“I’m just a guard, lady. If you want more information, go ask Lieutenant Hayes. And watch your step, we have the bridge heavily mined.” Six pushed off toward the tent the trooper had indicated, finding the Lieutenant lazily walking back and forth in front of a burn barrel that was casting cheery flames up toward the darkening sky. The Lieutenant didn’t have any better answers for her questions.

 

“What do you mean you don’t have enough manpower or supplies? There are at least 7 of you. I have noticed 4 ammunition boxes and you have the bridge riddled with mines. I can see five from here!” Six realized she was yelling and dropped her arms to her sides. The Lieutenant had started to inch his hand toward his pistol as she was speaking.

 

“I have orders to hold this position and the status quo until further support is sent our way.” Six released a long breath from her nose as she pinched its bridge with her fingers.

 

“If,” she gritted, irritation spilling out more.

 

“Ma’am?”

 

“You mean if support is sent your way.”

 

“Unfortunately, my hands are tied here. Those bastards in blue have the town for now.”

 

“Well I need to get in to see the owner of the Mojave Express over there.” She jerked with her thumb over her shoulder. Hayes followed her motion and then laughed.

“If you want to try your luck getting into Primm, be my guest. We’ll be sure to clean up your body once reinforcements arrive.” With that he turned around and headed into his tent. There were troops on either side of the tent flap, and both gave her an understanding look. That irritated her instead of the intended calming effect.

 

“Why the fuck are you even here?” She yelled, throwing her arms up and stalking away, toward the bridge and the hope of answers. The bridge itself acted as a perfunctory no man’s land. There was a small barricade that was unmanned on this side of the bridge. Two NCR troopers lazily patrolled further down. A dozen mines littered the area between her and the other side. Crouching down, she made careful, but quick work of disarming the mines into an empty ammunition box from the barricade. No one even paid attention to her.

 

Remaining crouched, Six crept across the now clear bridge and ducked behind the large building on the left of the street. She tucked the ammunition box behind a dumpster then peeked around the corner, assessing her options. The paved road that continued up toward the Bison Steve Hotel gave no cover and was just asking for her to be shot if they had guards along the coaster tracks or the porch on the second level.  The Mojave Express building was the last building on the right, but she could see a dead body that looked relatively fresh lying prone in front of it.

 

Changing direction, Six moved quickly back along the building to the two shacks she had noticed on the way over the bridge. The first one had a ridiculously easy lock, and she was inside within a few seconds. There was electricity here, and she took the time to fill herself with water from the sink before doing the same to her canteen. She poked around the rest of the shack, emptying out a metal box with ammo, a slight twinge of guilt snaking into her. After a once over, she went to the next one.

 

The smell hit her before the door was open. The awful stench of death that made her want to turn away, but she pressed on. If there was a clue as to where the people of Primm were or supplies available she was going to find out. Pulling her shirt collar up over her nose and mouth and taking one last deep breath, Six slipped inside. It was awful, the stench of rotting flesh and that horrifying, slightly sweet smell settled over everything in the shack. Reminding herself to breathe out of her mouth, she cleared the filing cabinets and desk before heading toward the source of the smell.

 

The bodies were lying in the single bed, and were shot with a high enough caliber there was little left on the bloody stumps of their necks. They looked to be a man and a woman, and seemed to be facing toward each other. Swallowing her stomach and wiping at her eyes burning from the odors in the air, she felt herself becoming angry on their behalf. Turning her head, she swept the room quickly, finding a silenced 10mm in a holster on top of the fridge that was in better shape than her 9. She looped the holster quickly into her belt loop, and walked back to the door, wrenching it open.

 

A man dressed in blue with a bulletproof vest on was lounging up against the shack wall, both of them staring at the other in surprise. _Those bastards in blue._ Six moved first, getting the chance to test out the new gun by emptying four rounds into the man’s face before he could draw. She didn’t do the level of damage these assholes had to the people inside, but it was a start.

 

She was against the building again in a few seconds, checking around the corner discreetly as she had earlier. There was in fact another asshole up by the first body she had seen. He was lounging against the wall of the Mojave Express building, smoking and looking like he didn’t have a care in the world. Her first shot went a bit wide, and caught his arm instead of his chest as she had been planning. His shout of pain was ended by her headshot, but the damage had been done. Three more poured out of the hotel, yelling and searching about.

 

Staying ducked behind the column of the building, Six took a breath steadying herself, then began firing. 5 bullets to 3 assholes. Not too bad she thought to herself. She was reloading when she heard the distinct sound of a door slamming somewhere above the main entrance to the hotel. Shit, a sniper. The front door to the building would put her in the perfect spot to catch a bullet to the head, so instead she pried off two of the boards covering the shuttered windows. She was wriggling through when the sniper realized what she was doing and fired blindly in her direction. Just as a bullet pierced through the leg of her pants she fell through.

 

Dust rose around her as she checked for damage and waited for her eyes to adjust to the sudden darkness. Luck was with her this time, and she just needed a patch for the pants. Although after the shack she probably should just burn these clothes. There was a slight sound in front of her in the dark and Six realized she wasn’t alone. Turning on her Pip-Boy’s light and aiming her 10 mm, she realized she once again had a gun trained on her.

 

A man with umber skin had a large shotgun sighted on her, a scowl twisting his wrinkled face. Six raised her hands in supplication, hoping she wasn’t going to die a second time in as many days. From her light, she could make out several people crowding behind the man, and the sound of mechanical footsteps approaching echoed.

 

“Hurry up Slim, let’s get a look at the one who finally grew a brain and decided to play hero for those Powder Gangers.”

 

“You’re mistaken, I am not-“ she began, but the man cut her off. Six ducked her head again, hoping to appear as non-combative as possible.

 

“I’m not interested in the line of Brahmin shit you are about to try and feed me. You’re going to come out and Slim is going to walk you back out the doors before we put you down. Up here Slim, that’s a good job. Now you… wait a minute.”

 

The man stared in the much brighter light provided by the Protectron who had pushed its way through the bystanders. After a few moments of quiet, Six slowly lifted her head. The man was staring at her with wide eyes, focusing on her hair. He lowered the shotgun slowly, then began a deep chuckle.

 

“Well I’ll be damned. Courier Six! What are you- lower your gun Slim, we don’t want to be shooting this one- what are you doing here? I figured you were drowning yourself in liquor on the strip since you were the only one who didn’t finish the job. Come here child, stand up.” He leaned forward, clasping his hand onto her arm and yanking her to her feet.

 

“Wait a minute, you know me?” She asked, brushing off the rest of the dust from where she landed. The man stared at her, eyes squinting and hand twitching toward his gun again. He looked back at the audience, then began shooing them away.

 

“Alright everyone, back to your posts. Ruby go grab something for the young’un to eat and give us a second to catch up.” He waited until the others had left before he walked right up to her, shoving a finger angrily into her chest.

“I don’t know what you’re playing at, but it’s not funny.”

 

“Honestly, I have no idea who you are. I didn’t finish the job because I was jumped outside of Goodsprings and shot, my package taken, and then dumped into a shallow grave. Things have been a bit scrambled. So again, you know me?” The man leaned back out of her space and dropped his hand.

 

“You honestly don’t remember me or Ruby? You had supper with us.”

 

“I’m sorry, I honestly don’t.” He swore quietly under his breath, giving her a sad look. Six bristled slightly. She didn’t want his pity, she wanted answers.

 

“Well I’ll never forget that hair. Never seen a color like that before. You know you said it was natural?” Another chuckle and then his tone became serious.

 

“I’d like to help you, but we’re in a bad spot here. The Powder Gangsters moved down here and killed the Sheriff and his wife, took the deputy hostage, and the rest of us have been barricaded in the museum ever since. The NCR troops have been useless. Daniel tried to go for help and the Gangsters shot him dead.” Behind him a woman appeared, carrying a plate of something that smelled amazing and a bottle of Nuka-Cola. She whispered something to the man and he looked at Six with a curious expression.

 

Six realized she had dropped into a dusty old storage room as the man dragged some crates over for her to sit on. He motioned for her to sit, then handed her the plate.

 

“Since you don’t remember us, let’s start over. I’m Johnson Nash, and this here is my wife Ruby. What are you back in Primm for?” Six swallowed a bit of the meal, relishing the smoky flavor and the slight bite it provided, chasing it with a swig from the cola bottle before answering.

 

“I was here hoping I could find some background information on myself. There’s almost nothing I remember. Well, except that.” She pointed to his pinky finger, which was missing after the third knuckle.

 

“All I have is being called Courier Six. And I think I was in a building, looking over a robot. Everything else is just dark, and it hurts to think about.” Johnson had knelt down before her as she ate, the bite of the food deepening. Something pricked in her memory. What was it?

 

“I know your name.” Six’s hand froze on its path to her mouth, trembling slightly. The woman, Ruby, hung her head slightly, an embarrassed look passing between her and Johnson. Six could feel a but coming. They wanted something.

 

“I’ll give you all of the information I have, and it’s more than just your name. But first, I need you to take out the rest of the Powder Gangsters and get us a new sheriff for our town.” Six balked, eyes wide.

 

“How many more are there?”

 

“A dozen or so.”

 

“A… dozen assholes. And a new sheriff. Would you like that roller coaster up and running while I’m at it?” There was that embarrassed look again, both of them sharing it. They were taking advantage of her and they knew it. Damn it all.

 

“I’m sorry, but we don’t have much choice. The NCR won’t help, I’m an old man, Slim is broken down, the Gangsters kidnapped and tried to ransom Deputy Beagle, and the rest of the townsfolk here are not fighters. I’ll can give you a few things to help.” His last words were hopeful, and Six sat there staring at the food, thinking and feeling the nagging sensation that she should know something about what she had just eaten. It hit her just as she made up her mind.

 

“That’s radscorpion venom casserole.”

 

“It is. You really enjoyed it when I made it the night before you left.”

 

“It’s going to make my mouth go numb.” This time they both chuckled, but Six’s slightly lopsided smile was for another reason. She remembered. With the information they had she could begin figuring out who she was.

 

“I’ll do it.” Johnson stuck out his gnarled hand, and shook. Everyone in this desert seemed to be missing pieces, and while she didn’t like how it happened, she saw the need to help this town.

 

                                                                                                                                                                  * * *

A dozen assholes turned into fifteen. And she was thankful for her numb mouth when one managed to punch her in the face when she mistakenly thought she had cleared the first floor and was trying to get information from the Deputy with her slurred speech. She kicked him into the lit barrel and couldn’t tell who screamed louder, the asshole who was now on fire or the asshole who took the chance to run away as soon as her back was turned, leaving her to take out the rest of the Powder Gangers herself.

 

The second floor was harder, and a particularly sneaky bastard managed to get in a good hit full force onto her left shoulder. Her collarbone screamed in protest when she tried to use both hands to aim her gun, so she resorted to aiming one -handed. The stimpack she shoved into her thigh before she stepped onto the porch took most of the pain away. The last asshole was the exact sniper who had shot a hole in her pants.

 

Six closed the door silently behind her. The sniper currently had the deputy pinned down behind a garbage can and was laughing at each scream his purposefully wide shots elicited from Beagle. He had a large machete lashed to his side, and an impressive sniper rifle. He had ear plugs in to protect against the noise of the gun and was oblivious to the fact that all of his associates were dead. Six smirked. Should have had a spotter. She grabbed the gun before kicking him off the edge, then relieved him of the machete once she climbed down the roller coaster track to the ground. His broken body went still when she ended his suffering with a clean headshot.

 

“Better than you deserved.” She muttered, throwing the gun over her shoulder. Beagle flinched as she rounded the trash can, then sighed in relief when he saw it was her. She lead him to the door of the building she could now see was the Vikki and Vance casino and knocked loudly. When the doors opened Beagle walked in and immediately began regaling everyone within with stories of his heroic escape. Johnson shook his head and then motioned for her to follow him out of the museum.

 

The door to the Mojave Express Outpost swung open, stirring dust and the flicker of memories. Johnson handed her a small pouch of caps and several rounds of ammo.

 

“Beagle isn’t going to work,” she said with resounding disappointment.

 

“Unfortunately no, I don’t reckon he will.” Six nodded, setting the rifle on the counter. She aske him about selling it and he talked her into letting him holding onto it for her until she came back through. She was coming back. Again.

 

“I’d like to take a look at that eyebot if you don’t mind.”

 

“Help yourself. Get it working and you can have it,” his reply was muffled since his back was turned, placing the sniper rifle in the tool cabinet off to the side. She was tinkering with the bot when Beagle came to the store, sheepishly handing something to Johnson before disappearing again. Upon the replacement of one final wire, the bot made a chirping noise and began hovering again. Clapping for herself, Six turned to see Johnson holding out a holodisk. The bot, ED-E, hovered about her as they listened to Beagle’s notes about Nipton.

 

Six pinched the bridge of her nose as she thought, turning the choices over in her mind. She could go and seek out the Meyers fellow Johnson had suggested as sheriff or chase down this fresh lead on Suit first. Her past could wait a bit longer she decided. And she would need more firepower than just the eyebot and a handgun before she stormed the NCR Correctional Facility.

 

“I will get Meyers out, and send him this way,” she said to Johnson, who smiled and nodded. She asked him to say goodbye to Ruby and then made for the door. Her jaw was aching and her shoulder burning as she and ED-E started the trek, but Six was optimistic. Nipton would be better.

 

 


	2. Booms and Boxcars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has graphic descriptions of violence, so be warned. Also, the next chapter introduces Boone. Yeah!

Nipton was definitely not better. ED-E gave a cautionary beep as it noticed the smoke that rose from the town.

 

“I know, I see it too.” Six crouched down at an abandoned trailer on the outskirts, using her binoculars to peer through the busted-out windows. From this angle, she couldn’t see much. She told ED-E to stay put and started to move forward. The town looked deserted as Primm had, but this time the stench of death was not confined to a single shack. It rose on the wind, tainted with the heat from a fire that smelled of burning tires. On her left was a trading post, one of the few buildings that wasn’t completely destroyed or boarded up.

 

Dread rose thick in her throat, and as she turned the corner of the store, the horror lay before her. On both sides of the street people were hanging from crosses. One moaned occasionally, but the others were quiet, staring ahead and seeming to accept their fate. Peppered between the crosses were pikes that had decapitated heads mounted, men and women alike. Off to her right, a huge pile of tires burned. She could make out skeletons among the tires, near the bottom, arms outstretched as if they were reaching for her.

 

Six kneeled and was coaxing her stomach into keeping down the precious water it carried when she heard a shout. A man was running toward her, glasses nearly bouncing off his nose. He was dressed in bastard blue. She pulled her gun and aimed before she realized he was unarmed. And… he was laughing.

 

“Haha YEAH! Who won the lottery? This guy!” He ran right up to Six, laughter rising to the maniacal level.

 

“What are you talking about? What happened here?” The man stopped laughing and looked at her like she was insane.

 

“Are you stupid? I’m talking about THE lottery.”

 

“Brilliant, you’re crazier than a fiend. I guess I’ll go figure out what happened on my own.” Six made to step past him, but he grabbed her arm and stepped closer, sandy hair plastered to his forehead and the most unsettling smile on his face.

 

“Smell that air! Couldn’t you just drink it like it was booze? I’ll never drink anything sweeter in my life!” Cackling again, the man ran off, clapping his hands together and heading back the way she came.

 

After watching him run for a minute and then scanning to see if there were any more surprises, Six walked up to one of the men on the cross, trying to work out how best to help. Deciding the man making noise could wait a bit longer she dragged an overturned shopping cart to the pole. She shrugged off the cloth backpack Johnson had given her that was carrying all her gear before climbing up onto the basket. It wobbled slightly for a moment, then steadied. She was almost eye level with the man. He had shaggy blonde hair, with one lock that was curling into his eyes. Eyes that looked like they should be a brilliant blue, but were instead glazed over. Eyes that looked through her as if she was not even there.

 

He had strong features beneath the glaring black and purple marked skin, the sunken cheeks. The distinct shape of finger-like bruises was encircling his throat, and her eyes stung at the sight. The glint of metal caught her eye, and she reached into the collar of his shirt, pulling out a set of dog tags. Connor Lamont, New California Republic Army. Six let the tags fall back into his shirt, then smoothed the hair back from his face, wincing as the callouses on her hands dragged on his skin, but trying to let him know that he wasn’t alone.

 

“Hang on Connor, I’m going to take you down. I’m going to get you some help.” At the sound of his name, the man focused on her ever so slightly. There was a terrible, dragging _huhhhh_ as he tried to take a deeper breath. Instead of air, there was a quiet sound of gurgling.

 

“Hang on, hang on. You’ll be alright, I’ve got some stimpacks and a bit of Med-X, just hang on.” Six couldn’t remember her own name, but she knew for a fact that aside from injecting a few stims, she had no medical training. Gritting her teeth, she unlashed the ropes around his arms and the man fell into her chest. The smell of paint thinner was cloying in her throat, and she realized his arms had stretched out to an impossible length and his shoulders were-

 

_Hang on, hang on._

 

This became her personal mantra as she tried to be as gentle as possible while the cart noisily rocked beneath her feet. When his feet were unlashed, she realized his legs were broken, as if someone had stuffed his legs with the corkscrew straws she had seen in magazines. That awful, ragged breathing in her ear, drowning out all else…

 

_Hang on, hang on._

Connor’s entire weight tipped over onto her, the feeling of thin metal no longer beneath her boots. Asphalt caught her, something jagged and hard digging into her back. There was a small _puff_ that would bounce around in her head forever, no matter how many bullets she soaked up. Something wet was on her cheek and she ignored it, shifting Connor from the top of her to lie prone as gently as she could. He was gone, she knew that even before she met his eyes, eyes that were truly empty now.

 

Six tightened her hands into fists, bringing them up and smashing them down onto her thighs. The thud and dull pain was soothing. Again and again, she dropped her fists onto her own skin, wanting the _thud thud thud_ to drown out the ragged breathing still in her ear. She stopped when she hit the injection site from yesterday’s stimpacks, and cried out, bending over on herself.

 

“I should have given you the kindness of shooting you.” Six sat up, deciding instantly. A little kindness never hurt anything. After wiping her eyes with gritty hands, she drew her silenced pistol. Blood that did not belong to her was on her skin, and the smell of paint thinner wafted gently.

_Hang on, hang on._

 

Walking up to the next victim, Six fired, the perfect headshot she had been hoping for yesterday in Primm.

 

_Hang on, hang on._

Four more bullets. Her eyes wanted to snap shut at each _bang_ of her gun. Her stomach wanted to heave, and she wanted to scream until her throat was dry, cracked like his must have been. She forced herself to not flinch, someone had to remember this. The last one was still whimpering. Just like the others as she looked up at him, his face shifted. Brown hair and green eyes slowly changed to blonde curls and glazed blue, like peering into foamy water.

 

She aimed, hands shaking even when she sighted with both. Connor’s expression changed, and he nodded at her. The relieved expression was replaced with a blank one when the round met its mark. Blank, with brown hair and green eyes. Six reholstered, the gun, feeling as if its weight had doubled. Without looking, she walked back to the first body, broken and pitiful. She knelt, touching his face just long enough to close his eyes. Her hand clamped over her mouth to keep from screaming, but she couldn’t stop the tears.

 

                                                         * * *

 

 “Still yourself profligate. I’m not going to have you lashed to a cross like the rest of these degenerates. It’s actually useful that you happened by.”

 

It was a smooth voice, and she assumed it was attached to the pair of boots she hadn’t noticed until now. Black boots, worn but well-made. The buckles had metal silver pieces on them, a somewhat crude rendition of a bull on them. Six’s ragged breathing caught in her throat, and she tried to swallow but her throats was too dry.

 

She stood, looking at the man before her. He was in armor and a… skirt? And… was wearing a dog on his head. Six couldn’t make out his eyes behind his dark sunglasses, but she could feel his gaze on her.  There were several others in similar dress that fanned out behind him. She counted quickly, noting 9 more well-armed men and a few dogs that were growling and drooling at her like they were ready for a good meal. There were no walls or columns to duck behind, she was completely exposed. And she only had 7 bullets left, her extra magazines safely stored in her pack behind her.

 

“I want you to witness the fate of the town of Nipton, to memorize every detail. And then, when you move on? I want you to teach everyone you meet the lesson that Caesar’s Legion taught here, especially any NCR troops you run across.”

 

Caesar’s Legion? They were fanatics across the Colorado River. What the hell were they doing in NCR territory? Mindful of her audience, she chose her words carefully.

 

“And what lessons did you teach?” His voice was emotionless and set her teeth on edge.

 

“Where to begin? That they are weak and we are strong? This much was known already. But the depths of their moral sickness, their dissolution? Nipton serves as the perfect object lesson.”

 

“So what exactly happened here? Crazy man was ranting about a lottery.” Six jerked over her shoulder with her thumb, and in response, several weapons were drawn and aimed at her.

_Touchy, good to know._

“Nipton was a wicked place, debased and corrupt. It served all comers, so long as they paid. Profligate troops, Powder Gangers, men of the Legion such as myself- the people here didn’t care. It was a town of whores. For a pittance, the town agreed to lead those it had sheltered into a trap. Only when I sprang it did they realize they were caught too.”

 

Six stared incredulously as hatred burned inside of her. She clenched her hands into fists to stop the shaking. She could swallow this time, and did so thickly.

 

“You captured everyone?

 

“Yes, and herded them to the center of town. I told them their sins, the foremost being disloyalty. I told them that when Legionaries are disloyal, some are punished, the others made to watch. And I announced the lottery. Each clutched his ticket, hoping it would set him free. Each did nothing, even when supposed loved ones were dragged away to be killed.”

 

“You slaughtered innocent civilians?”

 

At this the man actually scoffed, tossing his head back slightly. A few of the men around her echoed his joyless laugh. He settled back into his attentive posture and Six fought the urge to shoot the calm right off his face.

_Keep it together Six, you cannot take all of them._

“Innocent? Hardly. Cowardly though. They outnumbered us yet not once did they try to resist. They stood and watched as their fellows were butchered, crucified, and burned one by one. They stood and hoped their turn would not come. Each cared only for himself.”

 

He stepped closer to her, reaching out toward her. Her face instinctively jerked back, but the rest of her body stayed where it was. His hand hovered outstretched for a moment, unsure. Then he quickly wiped away a tear that lingered on her dirty face.

 

“None of them cried for anyone but themselves.” He rubbed his thumb and index finger together, smearing her tear across his skin. Six shuddered, feeling like she needed to dip herself in acid to be rid of the sensation of his fingers on her skin. She let out a hoarse scoff of her own, not nearly as impressive, but she managed.

 

“What you did here is unforgivable.”

 

“As are all crimes. If you feel strongly about it, attack us, and soon you won’t feel a thing.” The group of legionaries had started turning away, beginning to follow the road that went in front of the town hall. Gritting her teeth, Six started backing up the way she came, the distance between them growing. She was almost to her pack. The man in the dog hat suddenly held his hand up signaling them to stop.

 

“You were muttering something when you were undoing the suffering of the degenerates we had crucified. What was it?”

 

“Hang on.” At this the man let out a full laugh, the others in his group joining in with him after a beat.

 

“What is so fucking funny?” She demanded, crimson anger coloring her cheeks.

 

“Surely you see the irony in telling someone crucified to hang on.” He chuckled again as he resumed his leisurely stroll away from her.

 

Rage colored the edges of her vision, white hot. Breaking into a run, she ran toward her pack, sliding onto her knees as she reached it. Within seconds she had grabbed her homemade flashbang grenades and a second mag. She was taking aim when the warning barks of the dogs drew the attention of a few of the legionaries back to her. She fired, the bullet flying true and sinking into the left shoulder of the man who was responsible for this. His quiet cry of pain was the most beautiful thing she had heard all day.

 

She threw the flashbangs toward the group and ran like hell back to the trading post. The following explosion left a painful ringing in her ears even from this distance, and she stumbled slightly. She would have to dial that back a little. Hopefully it royally fucked up their day. She reached the door to the general store and slammed it shut behind her. Without pausing to catch her breath, she shoved a large wooden shelving unit in front of the door and began pulling the mines she had collected at Primm out of her pack. She had 10 of them set quickly and was backing away when she heard a voice behind her.

 

“Who the fuck are you? And what was all that goddamn noise?” Six spun again, aiming based on her impaired bearing since her eyes were still adjusting to the sudden dark. As her eyes focused, she could make out a man sitting on a chair. He had his hands raised in supplication.

 

“Hey now, easy. I’m just the fucking cripple you’re about to blow away for just sitting here.” Six kept her gun trained on him as she gave him a quick check for weapons.

 

“You have to go somewhere else, now.” Her whispers were quiet, urgent, but he scoffed loudly at her.

 

“Are you fucking deaf? I said I’m crippled. Those Legion assholes beat my legs with hammers and then let that dickbag Swanick walk. So I can’t now, fuck off lady.” She gritted her teeth as she began to hear the sound of the Legion dogs barking and their masters searching the houses. They would be at the trading post soon.

 

“Listen up, I don’t have time to explain in detail, but I shot at those Legion assholes and now they’re headed this way. Where is the backdoor to this shithole?”

 

“You WHAT?” The man yelled, staring at her incredulously. Six clapped her hand over his mouth, shushing him.

 

“Seriously, shut up, they’re looking for me. I shot the asshole with a dog on his head and they took it personally. Where is the way out of here?”

 

The man pointed at the front door and mumbled behind her fingers. Six released him, slinging her pack on.

 

“There’s a second story, but there aren’t even windows up there lady. That door is the only way in or out. So congrats grim reaper, you just killed both of us.” _Fuck._

Six wracked her brain, mind racing while the man just quietly chuckled, muttering about living through the lottery only to die anyway. She made up her mind in a snap, retrieving the Med-X needles from her pack.

 

“Hey, now we’re talking. 5 should do the trick in making the way out painless. For me anyway, if you feel like sharing.”

 

“What’s your name?” She pulled the cap off with her teeth while looking for the best part in his thigh to inject the needle.the meaty part near his waist seemed to have the least amount of bruising, so she slid it in there. The effect was almost instant.

 

“Boxcars.” A second and third one followed suit quickly.

 

“Boxcarsssss, hehe, yeah baby that’s me.” She shushed him again as she heard the sound of the booted feet coming up the side of the building, dragging something heavy and metallic alongside the walls. Fear tried to coil itself around her thoughts, but she shrugged it off, refusing to give in. She moved behind Boxcars and locked her arms across his chest, beneath his shoulders. He was lighter than she initially thought, but she still struggled a bit. She could hear them at the door as she made it to the stairs behind the counter.

 

There was grumbling and what sounded like voices snapping at each other at the door. Six heaved harder, wincing as Boxcar’s mangled legs made a thumping noise on the steps and he let out a moan. The voices outside picked up at the noise. Sweating, she finally pulled him into the upstairs room. The Legionaries gave up trying to pick the lock and started kicking the door instead. Shit, she had to hurry. She finally had a bit of luck when the small room off to the side had a bathroom. As gently as once can when facing imminent death, Six dumped him into the bathtub. On his lap she left him a bottle of water and some food. She slipped her final dose of Med-X and her last 2 stimpacks beneath his hands.

 

“I’m going to get you help. I won’t let you die here by yourself.”

 

“Yeah grim reaper, you do that baby.” His warm, brown glassy eyes looked at her and he smiled happily. Six turned away before they could turn foamy blue. The sound of the door splintering echoed up the stairwell, and she hurried to shut the door quietly before descending.

 

Crouched a few steps up from the floor level, Six reloaded a new clip and put the last two mines into her jacket pocket. Risky with the coming gunfight, but she needed them in easy reach. This time the kick to the wooden door rendered the air with a large crack, and she heard them discover the shelving unit. A long whistle and the sound of an excited bark let her know they were readying the dogs.

 

Six risked one glance around the wall to see the damage. She looked out just in time to see the final kick that broke the door completely and tipped the shelving unit. Pulling herself back into the stairwell and all her mines exploded at the same time, the boom both terrifying and thrilling her. The screaming started as she set another and tossed it. Some of the Legionaries had pushed past their exploded comrades to enter the building as she caught them with the thrown mine.

 

As they were recovering from the second assault she vaulted over the counter, leaping over the mines that had not been detonated yet and out the door. She tucked and rolled, startling the men who were not screaming in agony. One of them recovered from his surprise to charge her where she laid on the ground. Six kicked him squarely in the chest and he fell back into the doorway, exploding the remaining mines. Seizing her momentum, she flipped backward and fired, catching one in the face. Two charged her as she fired, and she shot them in their knees. A quick glance saw that the man with dog hat was not there, but 3 more men without obvious injury were preparing to charger her as well.

 

 Swearing under her breath, Six pulled the last mine out and threw it toward the group, shooting it in mid-air. The resounding boom was her second favorite sound of the day. Six turned away from the carnage before her and walked directly a mountain of a man. She actually bounced off him slightly. He was well over 6 foot tall, and was dressed in the Legion armor of the men she had just slaughtered.

 

“Right then.” It was all she got out before he punched her right in the stomach. Six’s breath escaped her in a gasp and she doubled over. Another punch sent her sprawling a few feet back, her gun skittering the opposite direction behind the behemoth. He roared as he ran at her, Six scrambling to her feet.

 

“ED-E! To me! Enga-“ her scream was cut off when the man backhanded her across the face. Six saw stars, dodging blindly as her fingers unlashed the machete she wore at her belt. She swung blindly, ferociously. She struck something solid and was rewarded with an inhuman roar and another punch. This one actually helped clear her senses, her vision refocusing in time to see the man swinging a crude spear at her. She blocked his swing with her machete, the force traveling up her arm and her fingers going numb. She nearly dropped the machete. His next swing she tried to dodge, and the tip of his spear ripped a slice cross her ribs in a vertical line. She screamed, clutching at it as blood began leaking against her fingers.

 

He charged her again, and Six ran at him as well, dropping to her knees and sliding beneath his gargantuan legs at the last moment. She slashed at his legs as she slid, nicking the tendon in his right foot. Tiredness washed over her, suddenly, and she struggled to roll into her fighting stance. The man seemed to lack for no stamina as he gripped his spear and headed  toward her again, right leg dragging. He was raising the spear over her, angling it down, when he was lit up from behind with bright red laser beams.

 

His face went slack for a moment, then he roared and turned behind him, focus lost on her. Six took her chance. She ran and leapt, swinging her machete as hard as she could. It bit into his meaty neck, and an awful gurgling sound came from his mouth as blood began pooling out. He staggered for a minute as ED-E continued to fire into his chest, his fingers grasping for the handle of her blade. He sagged o his knees first, then flopped over face first.

 

“ED-E, you beautiful little shit, I have never been so happy to see a robot in my entire life. I think. Anyway, your timing was impeccable.” It’s answering beeps reminded her she told it to stay. There were shouts behind them, and she could hear what sounded like the running of several booted feet.

 

“How many of these douchebags are there? Dammit, ED-E, let’s go, we have some evasion to do.” Six  pulled her machete from the man’s neck and retrieved her gun. The two of them ran into Mojave as the sun set, their retreat being observed by the man in the dog hat.


	3. Bitter Drink

Boone woke to his alarm clock squawking at him to get up. He knocked it to the floor as he did every day, hand reaching beside him. The only thing his fingers touched was the cold sheet in a bed too small for two people. He sat up with a start, reality sinking in. She was gone, and he was still here. Still here in this shitty motel, in this shitty town. He understood her hatred of this place now. Everyone moved on like nothing mattered, because here, nothing did.

 

Reaching over to the pack of cigarettes he kept on the nightstand, he lit one, taking a deep drag. The acrid smoke burned his lungs, and he held his breath longer than he should before he exhaled. She also hated his smoking habit, demanding he stop. But she was gone now, and couldn’t tell anyone anything. Rubbing his bleary eyes, Boone moved to the fridge. Inside was a package of something Jeannie May had left him. He ate it mechanically, standing in front of the curtained window. On the floor, the radio continued to play.

 

In the bathroom, he scrubbed off the sweat and staleness that clung to him, then changed into clothes he thought were clean. Probably. The radio changed over to piano music playing and Boone nearly tripped on his way over to it. The off button ignored his repeated pressing.

 

“Love me as though there were no tomorrow; Take me out of this world tonight.”

 

Echoes from months ago chased the words, the image of Carla walking to him with her arms outstretched. _Dance with me, Craig._ Boone threw the alarm clock at the wall in frustration, pieces of it popping off and falling to the carpet. It was finally silent at least. Cliff needed something new to tinker on anyway. He picked up the pieces and headed out, shutting the door tightly against the ghosts that lingered.

 

Inside of Dinky Boone found Cliff locking up the cash register and his back room. He didn’t understand why the man bothered to unlock it in the first place, no one ever bought any of his rockets and very few of his dinosaur toys. He set the alarm clock on the counter and Cliff spoke with his raised eyebrow and a concerned glance between the clock and Boone.

 

“Knocked it off the table on accident, just need it working again please.” Cliff clucked his tongue at him.

 

“We’ll have to find you a new one. Last time I put this together it was an end game patch job. This piece here is gone and for what it takes to track down this part alone…” Cliff trailed off, leaving the decision to Boone. Carla had given him that stupid alarm clock when they first came here. Anger at his carelessness stirred beneath his ribs, but Boone shoved it down.

 

“Yeah, fine.” Cliff nodded and set the clock back down on the counter. Boone took it up with him as he went to relieve Manny. As usual, Manny greeted him with a sad smile and a “Hey buddy.” As usual, Boone tersely inclined his head but otherwise pretended Manny wasn’t there. Dejected, Manny left with slumped shoulders.

 

Boone settled on the stool and then laid his rifle on the small shelf they had attached to the lip of the dinosaur, right behind the teeth. His sharp eyes scanned left to right, checking for movement. So far it was setting up to be another quiet night. He could see that the smoke from Nipton had stopped. The merchants that had passed through all skirted the town while everyone waited on official news the NCR had yet to provide.

 

Watching on as the town settled down for the night, Boone allowed the quiet to soothe his nerves, like a balm to a raw wound. The mouth of the dinosaur looked out across the bridge, facing away from Novac and everyone carrying on with their lives. Up here it was easier to just be the faceless death pulling a trigger.

 

A full moon rose, washing everything in a silvery light. The Joshua trees peppered the cracked landscape, sentinels keeping watch with him. Not that he needed the company. Nothing could hide from him on a night like tonight. He could picture it now. A group of Legionaries walking with their leisurely stroll toward Novac. Utterly confident they were on their way to a sleeping town to slaughter its men and capture the women and children, they would approach the bridge across from him. The leader would lift his foot to step down onto the bridge and Boone’s bullet would be singing as it flew through the air, burying itself into the still confident face of the legion bastard who never saw it coming. They would scatter, but not make it far. Boone’s fingers on the trigger would be merciless, his shots never missing. Their blood would soak the landscape in shimmery pools that would look black while the moon looked on, disinterested as always.  Snapping out of his fantasy at movement, he was disappointed to see only a lone bloatfly across the bridge and fired a perfect kill shot.

 

He was well into the better half of his shift and his pack of cigarettes when more movement from the right caught his eye. His rifle was in his hands immediately, scope up to his eye, cigarette hanging out of his mouth still. He could make out something metallic bobbing around. He realized it was an eyebot about the time he saw it was buzzing in an erratic pattern around someone struggling to make it over the top of the hill behind the gas station.

 

Through his scope and with the light from the moon, Boone could see them well enough to see they were not wearing Legion armor. When they made it to the top of the hill, they seemed to sag, clutching their left side and leaning to the same direction. From here he could hear several beeps and a whistle, and the eyebot pushed itself up against the person. It was… trying to steady them?

 

Boone was considering using the small radio to raise Manny to have him come deal with this when the person leaned too far forward, tumbling down the rocky slope toward the back of the gas station. They landed with a loud groan and a kick up of dust. He scanned the horizon again to make sure he wasn’t being given a decoy tactic, but everything was clear. When he turned back and had the unknown in his sights, he was staring at a woman’s face, grimacing in pain. The hood of her jacket had been thrown back.  Dried blood and dirt streaked her face, and from here he could make out large bloodstains on her shirt.

 

She staggered forward toward the rusty metal shelves, reaching for something on the shelf. Boone tightened the butt of the gun to him, finger curling slightly on the trigger. Injured or not, a thief was not going to clear out some of the odds and ends in No-bark’s collection on his watch. He’d never hear the end of it. The woman startled him by dropping a couple caps on the shelf and swiping something small enough he couldn’t make it out.

 

Boone dragged on his cigarette as he watched through the scope, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Suddenly the woman seemed to be on high alert. Her brows furrowed and her eyes snapped up. Boone felt like she was staring him down right through his scope, an odd sensation settling in his chest. His mouth went dry and he lowered his gun, staring without the aid of his sights. The woman turned and booked it back around the gas station, the eyebot close on her heels. He stubbed out what little was left of his cigarette on the old wooden planks. The next hour or so he paid special attention to the gas station and surrounding area, but there was no more movement. The rest of his shift was silent, and still the strange feeling plagued him.

 

Manny relieved him the next morning, and Boone fell back into his routine, brushing off the night’s events. His broken alarm clock went back on the dresser, he ate what someone left in front of his motel room, and washed it down with too much whiskey before flopping himself onto the bed. The whiskey kept the nightmares at bay at least, and he slept deeply.

 

                                                      * * *

Boone woke with a start, halfway expecting to start swinging at the alarm clock before he remembered it was broken. His tongue felt thick in his mouth and his body was trying to sweat alcohol out of his skin. He began his daily process of trying to find something clean to wear and scrounging for something to eat. Apparently, he was overdue for laundry because all of his clothes reeked. He stripped down, and washed as best he could in his slightly hungover state before redressing in yesterday’s clothes.

 

Shoving the rest of the clothes in an old briefcase, he left, heading to the front desk. Jeannie May was sitting behind it in her chair, looking slightly frazzled. She started when he set the briefcase containing his clothes on the counter.

 

“Oh! Boone, how are you today? Laundry day I see. Just leave it there and I’ll take care of it.”

 

Boone usually didn’t care to ask after people, but his curiosity got the better of him.

 

“Everything alright Jeannie May? You seem a bit upset about something.” With a loud sigh, she leaned forward onto her hands, pushing her glasses to the top of her head to rub at her eyes.

 

“Ada Straus brought back a Powder Ganger from Nipton this morning. She says a woman paid a hefty sum of caps to her and her guards to drag him back here. Ada has him up in her house but apparently someone smashed his legs up and she was trying to reset them. His screams woke everyone up this morning and I have had to field several complaints. She said she got some braces on his legs but they’re most likely useless. And she was none too quiet about telling everyone Nipton was destroyed. The boy she brought back was the only survivor.  Apparently the Legion hit them hard.”

 

Boone’s fist clenched tightly at his side and he had to focus on keeping his teeth from grinding together. The Legion, of course. He shoved his rage back down, relaxing his curled fingers. He added it to the ever- growing list of things that would fuel him when he could leave this town and wage war on them.

 

“Of course, when I reminded them we have you and Manny watching over us they calmed down. The work you two do is important here. Nipton being so close has left people shaken.”

 

Jeannie May looked him in the eye, giving him an encouraging smile. Boone could hear what she wasn’t saying with words. _Please stay, the town needs you._

 

“Anyway, it will settle down. Always does. You leave those clothes there and I’ll get to them in just a bit.”

 

“Yeah,” Boone answered, turning away toward the door after placing some caps on the counter. He was still early for his shift, so he headed to the community tent where most of the town gathered for an evening meal. It had been a month since he joined them, and as he sat on the cracked metal stool, he drew stares. Regret at choosing to eat here immediately settled over him, but he refused to retreat at this point. He bought his bowl of Brahmin stew from Alice McBride and began eating it with the same repetitiveness all his meals brought.  

 

He listened to the conversations around him. Alice and Dusty were having problems with someone killing their brahmin.  Someone suggested it was the feral ghouls that had started making their way down from REPCONN’s test site and arguments were had over that.  Old Lady Gibson’s dogs were shitting on Jeannie May’s porch. Nancy complained about the screams coming from Ada’s house. All the while Boone stared at each one of them, wondering who it was who helped the Legion take Carla. He imagined a hand over her mouth, reaching beside her for Boone. She would have found only cold, empty sheets like he now did every morning. She would have cried; would have told them she was pregnant. She would have-

 

Someone dropped their bowl into the collection loudly. The resulting clatter startled Boone back into the present. The spoon he had been using was now bent completely in half under the pressure of his clenched fist. No longer interested in finishing his meal, Boone stood and left, pocketing the spoon instead of dealing with the odd looks he would receive.  As he neared the gas station, he could hear No-bark yelling at Manny from the mouth of Dinky.

 

“This happened on your watch, you bozo! My cyclops snot is gone! GONE! Do you know how much ‘Ol Sticky and I had to go through to get that?! He’s not called ‘Ol Sticky because I stick him in useless mustached men like you. How did you miss aliens beaming down in broad daylight?” Manny was yelling back just as loudly.

 

“Don’t get mad at me because your crazy ass misplaced something. Aliens are not real No-bark and I’m still working here, so piss off.”

 

 

“Don’t tell me aliens are not real! They left their foreign currency in place of my cyclops snot! This is an outrage! I want reimbursed by the town for your incompetence.”

 

“Yeah, yeah No-bark. You go take your crazy and shove it right up your- OW! You threw caps in my eye you unhinged bastard!” Boone could see them now, and he watched as No-bark stalked to the door, making no move to intercede even though he was pretty sure he knew who stole the “cyclops snot”.

 

“ALIEN CURRENCY!” No-bark screamed as he slammed the door to Dinky shut. Manny shook his head and then flipped the closed door both fingers before turning back to the east. He didn’t notice Boone standing silently below. Curiosity was getting the better of him. After a fuming No-bark stalked past him, muttering, he went over the gas station. He followed the footsteps and blood drops from the shelf over to the side of the yellow building.

 

At the back of the building the blood drops became a small pool, and he could see the signs of someone sitting here. A small bottle was on the ground, the cap a foot or so away from it. The “cyclops snot” was wonder glue. Boone frowned slightly, then picked up the bottle and cap, adding it to the spoon in his pocket. The footsteps disappeared around the side of the hill. Boone turned and looked up at Dinky. He couldn’t see anything from this angle, the gas station providing a blind spot. Making a note to pay special attention to this direction on his watch tonight, Boone walked toward the dinosaur to relieve the man who used to be his closest friend.

 

                                                         * * *

Another week of his monotony passed by. Sleep, eat, watch duty from 9pm to 9am, another meal and then a few shots of whiskey to keep the nightmares at bay. He considered asking around for more information regarding Carla’s “disappearance” but he couldn’t come up with new questions.  So instead he existed, barely.

 

Tonight’s watch was proving to be just as uneventful as the last one, not even a bloatfly to shoot at. Off to the east a light green glow was beginning, signaling the dawn’s hesitant approach.  Boone was pacing back and forth, almost wishing for something to happen when there was a low rumbling sound. He felt it as much as he heard it, and it rolled in his chest and body uncomfortably. He leaned as far out of the side of Dinky’s mouth as he dared.

 

People were beginning to stumble out of their houses to see what the noise was about when the alarms started blaring loudly from over by the REPCONN test site.

Suddenly the rumble turned into a full roar. Three rockets shot up into the sky, one careening dangerously and nearly clipping the other before they straightened out, disappearing to the north. He could hear Jeannie May calming everyone down. He was glad that dealing with everyone was not his problem.

 

Within a short time, Novac was quiet again. The houses and motel were quiet, people settling back into their routine as if nothing happened. Their tedious existence angered him. What would it take for them to react for longer than a few minutes? To actually be affected by the horrifying and too rare, amazing things in the Mojave? As he turned again to the east, to his bridge, Boone realized the irony in his anger at the people of Novac. He just needed answers, he reminded himself, and then this town would be a bad memory.

 

                                                                       * * *

_They’re prodding her back, forcing her to walk quickly up to the platform. She’s not the only one there, instead she’s chained to several other women. Her hands are resting in the exact same spots his had just last night, feeling the kicks from under her skin. Boone cursed loudly, dropping his eye from the scope. No one would hear him from this distance. What was he going to do?_

_His heart was thudding in his throat, his stomach right below it. Boone inhaled and exhaled again, trying to grip the calm that was always within reach. It would not come, and his hands shook. There were so many, too many. Looking through his scope again, he saw Carla’s hands. They were not shaking as his were. If she was calm, he would be too.  Instantly he went still, and he lined up the shot. He looked at her face one last time, brown eyes streaming, but the rest of her so still. Slowly her head began to turn toward him._

_Boone fired before she could face him, like she knew he was there. The crack of his rifle seemed to echo everywhere, and then there was a lot of yelling. And he was running, the gun in his hand so cold it was burning but he couldn’t let go. The yelling was growing louder instead of fading like it should. Why was it getting louder?_

 

Boone shot up in bed, the yelling stopping as soon as he realized it was coming from him. He rubbed his eyes, reaching for the whiskey bottle on the bedside table. Shit, it was empty. He now remembered polishing it off after his shift this morning. He would have to wait for the caravans to come through or track Ada down for some of her home brewed stuff.

 

Sighing, Boone dressed quickly and headed toward the commerce tent. He had slept later than he realized. Nancy was there with a large pot of something she called oatmeal. To Boone it tasted like soggy mush with zero flavor.

 

Regardless, he bought a bowl and propped himself against the tent pole, facing west. The merchants would be coming down the north road, traveling past HELIOS One, but all he could see when he looked north was the roof of the burnt-out house. The oatmeal stuck harder in his throat, and Boone had to concentrate on swallowing down his food and memories.

 

Movement caught his eye heading toward Novac from REPCONN. It was… Boone’s eyes narrowed. He recognized the eyebot that was flitting around the two figures. As the two got closer, he recognized one of the two women, though her face was even dirtier and he now realized she had a shock of dark blue hair and eyebrows that matched. The two women were laughing and talking animatedly. The woman he didn’t recognize was dressed in plain brown clothes, carrying a large duffel bag.

 

As he watched, Manny went by at a jog, running up to the two. Boone drifted slightly closer so he could make out what they were saying while wondering who was watching the bridge.

 

“- it was insane, and so loud. To be honest when morning came after that launch and you weren’t back I thought you were dead. You’re not though, so here are the caps and the information I promised.”

 

Manny handed off a pouch of caps and handed her a slip of paper. As he headed back toward the dinosaur, Boone paused him with an outstretched hand. Manny looked at his face with eyes wide in shock. Ok, so Boone deserved that.

 

“Who was that?” Straight, to the point.

 

“Oh, a drifter looking for work and caps. I sent her to clear out the ghouls at REPCONN. I kind of expected her to die, but I guess she’s tougher than she looks. The woman with her too.”

 

“I’ll take the rest of your shift. Can you ask her to come see me up in the nest? I may have a job for her too.” A plan was already forming in his mind. Manny looked a bit miffed, eyes narrowing slightly at him. Again, he deserved that, but he brushed it off.

 

“Yeah Boone, I’ll get right on that.” Shaking his head, Manny turned to where the women were walking off to and Boone headed up toward the front of the motel. He could see Ranger Andy standing at the feet of the dinosaur, watching east. So that’s who Manny had cover for him. Boone hurried back to his motel room, grabbing his gun and every last cap he had.

 

Boone was not a man to smile much, instead excitement expressed itself in the way his feet pounded up the steps to Dinky. He accidentally banged the door open, startling Cliff.

 

“It’s just an alarm clock Boone, if I had known you were that anxious about it I would have walked it to your room.” He stared at the man in confusion for a minute before he slid a new alarm clock across the counter.

 

“Oh, yeah. How much?”

 

Cliff waved him away as an answer, tossing the clock at him as he began locking up. Boone muttered his thanks and headed up. Once he was settled, he whistled to Andy, who tipped his hat in response and limped off. He had been hoping the woman would come up to see him quickly, but instead the sky darkened, and slipped into evening. Deciding that she must have grabbed a room for the evening, Boone grudgingly stopped waiting and focused all his attention on his job.

 

He was sighting on a gecko too far away even for him when he could hear a slight whirring noise down below. He was leaning over to see what was going on below when a voice spoke near his ear.

 

“Hello.” Boone whirled, heart in his throat, though he managed to keep his voice relatively even when he ripped into her.

 

“Goddamn it! Don’t sneak up on me like that. What do you want?” The woman looked at him incredulously, crossing her arms and sinking back into her left hip.

 

“Manny said you wanted to talk to me actually. I see he must be mistaken though.” She turned, hand reaching toward the knob of the door.

 

“Hey. You. You wandered into town recently, right?” Facing him again, blue eyebrows raised loftily, she pinched the bridge of her nose.

 

“Yeah, and the name is Six. So, what do you need?”

 

“Boone. I, I need someone I can trust. You’re a stranger, so that’s a start.” Six smirked at him slightly.

 

“You only trust strangers? That doesn’t make much sense.”

 

“I said it was a start. This town… nobody looks me straight in the eye anymore.” Six though, she was looking him in the eye, fully and without blinking, waiting for him to continue. After so long of keeping it to himself, his words seemed eager to fall from his mouth.

 

“I want you to find something out for me. I don’t know if there’s anything _to_ find, but I need someone to try. My wife was taken from our home by Legion slavers while I was here on watch. They knew when to come, what route to take, and they only took Carla. Someone set it up. I don’t know who.” Six chewed slightly on the bottom of her lip for a moment.

 

“So you need my help to track down your wife?” Boone narrowed his eyes at her, anger rising at having to finally say the words aloud.

 

“My wife’s dead. I want the son of a bitch who sold her.” This time it was Six’s turn to narrow her eyes.

 

“And what do you want me to do if I find this person?”

 

“Bring him out in front of the nest here while I’m on duty. I work nights. I’ll give you my NCR beret to put on. It’ll be our signal, so I know you’re standing with him.” Boone’s voice dropped, the slight edge of excitement making his words quiver. It would be over soon, he could feel it. Just as he could feel the odd sensation as he looked at this woman.

 

“And I’ll take care of the rest. I need to do this myself.”

 

“You keep saying him an awful lot. Anyone I should check into first?” Boone realized in the back of his mind he had his caps on Manny. But he was not going to color this with his own suspicions. He wanted proof from someone without bias.

 

“No, I don’t have any leads. There’s caps in it for you.” Six nodded her head, holding her hand out. Boone knew she meant to shake on it, but instead he just handed her his beret. It felt odd to not have it on, and he ran his fingers over his closely cropped hair while she tucked the beret into her jacket.

 

“You probably shouldn’t talk to me again until this is done.” She nodded, headed for the door. Boone breathed a sigh of relief, and contented himself to wait.

 

                                                                             * * *

By the second day of waiting, Boone was losing his patience. He paced his room when he should be sleeping. He even climbed up onto the roof of the motel, stalking the movements of Six. This irritated him even more. She found time to take care of the McBride’s problem, sell off a bunch of guns to Old Lady Gibson, and check up on the stupid Powder Ganger Ada had tucked away in her house. This visit didn’t go well apparently. Boone could hear yelling from all the way where he was. Six was forcefully shoved from the house by one of the armed guards Ada kept around.

 

His guard duty that night started with him stomping up the stairs. Manny jumped when he slammed the door open, the hinges protesting their abuse. Manny stared at his chin when he asked Boone if he was ok, but Boone just grunted at him. His pacing continued here, back and forth. It was just after one when he heard voices heading his way. He could hear Jeannie May, a slight worried edge to it.

 

“I’m not sure why they couldn’t just meet me in the motel office, this has me a little nervous, young lady.”

 

“I’m just here to deliver the message, didn’t ask questions. Don’t worry, Boone’s on watch, he’ll take care of you.”

 

He watched as Six lead Jeannie May right in front of the dinosaur, his mind spinning. Out of everyone in this town, she would be the last one he expected. There had to be a mistake. Reaching her hand out, Six gently placed her hand on Jeannie May’s shoulder, turning her away from the dinosaur. She asked something quietly, and while Boone couldn’t hear what was being said, Jeannie May covered her eyes and her shoulders began to shake. She was crying.

 

Six looked up at Boone, eyes determined. Then she reached into her jacket and pulled out the beret, settling it firmly on her head. Boone didn’t move for a minute, just staring. When he locked eyes with her, she nodded once, mouth set in a grim line. Boone’s hesitation dissipated, and he raised his rifle, firing once. Blood splattered the woman wearing his beret, but she didn’t flinch.

 

Boone dropped then, back dragging down the wooden teeth of Dinky. This was supposed to be a relief to him, he should feel better. Instead of the sweet relief he was expecting, his mouth had the taste of bitter drink instead. He wanted whiskey to wash it out, and then remembered he never bought any more. He chuckled low, gun feeling cold in his hand again.

 

It was this position Six found him in. She opened the door slowly, taking in the situation with a careful look on her face. She waited on him to say something, but Boone just sat there. She handed him his beret after a few minutes of their stalemate.

 

“I cleaned it off. And moved her body over by that awful mole rat pit to the north. Can’t have the great town protector be an outlaw now, can we?” He thought she was being sarcastic at first, but her voice was kind, as was her face when he looked up.

 

“People die out here. Often enough no one worries about the blame. Everyone’s anxious to forget about it in the first place. Besides, I was on break when it happened.” A few minutes passed in silence, and Six shifted from foot to foot.

 

“How did you know it was her?” He hoped she had some kind of proof, anything. In response to his question, she pulled out a holodisk.

 

“It describes your wife being sold for one thousand caps by that, that woman, to the Legion. And another five hundreds caps once the baby came to term. Do you want me to play it?”

 

“No.” Such a simple word, but his voice broke on it all the same. She held the holodisk out to him, and he took it, tucking it away into his pocket.

 

“What will you do now?” Boone thought about this, mind coming up nearly blank.

 

“I don’t know, I won’t be staying here, I know that. I don’t see much point in anything right now, except hunting Legionaries. Maybe I’ll wander, like you.” He stood up, holding out the small pouch of caps.

 

“This is everything I have. I needed the help. So, thanks.” Six stared at the caps, but didn’t take them.

 

“You know, if you don’t have anything else going on, you could wander with me. I checked in on Boxcars earlier and he told me some of the captives from Nipton were taken east by Legionaries. We could still catch them.” He almost said no, but there was that odd sensation again. He felt like he should follow her.

 

“I’ll be ready in the morning. Meet me at the base of the dinosaur.” Six left, and Boone felt excited for the first time in months. He finished his shift imagining all the ways he could kill Legionaries.


	4. Shooting Lessons

Boone waited patiently while Six sent Veronica and ED-E to Goodsprings with several supplies for a Doc Mitchell and other items for someone named Sunny before they started their trek. Over the next several hours he started to think he had made the wrong choice agreeing to come with her. Six liked to sing. Her voice was nice enough, lower in tone and she carried a tune well, but she sang for an hour straight before he snapped at her.

 

“It’s going to be hard to keep us safe out here when you’re being so loud and alerting everything in the area to our presence.” Six stopped for a minute, looking around.

 

“We’re on the high ground right now, we’ll see anything coming.”

 

“And back there, when we were walking through the low valley?”

 

“The echoes were meant to confuse our enemies.” Boone let out a low growl of frustration and she continued, both walking and singing. Twenty minutes later, he spotted a gecko, dispatching it quickly. Six looked up at the body she had failed to notice, then back at him.

 

“It helps to pay attention. And being quiet helps with paying attention.”

 

“Fair enough. You’re rather good with that rifle. I’m accurate with my handguns, but I don’t know why I have a hard time shooting with accuracy with larger guns.” Boone was scanning the area for any other threats, a smirk appearing as he thought of an idea.

 

“Tell you what, you keep the singing to minimum amounts when we are not traveling, and I’ll give you a few sharpshooting lessons.” Six paused for a minute before nodding, hand extending out to shake. This time he took her up on it.

 

“Deal. Singing shall be restricted to non-travel times.” She took point again, and was quiet for a few minutes before the humming started.

 

“Really Six? We had a deal.” She smiled at him brightly, turning to face him while still moving.

 

“We had a deal about singing Boone. Humming was never part of the terms. You’ll have to think of something else to offer if you want me to be quiet all the time. Although quiet is boring.” Boone grumbled something, and Six laughed, humming while she led the way.

 

                                                          * * *

Boone and Six were crouched behind an outcropping as they went back over the plan one more time. There were eight captives below, two in bastard blue, and the rest were women. Six ran her fingertips nervously over the grip of her gun, chewing lightly on her lip. She steadied herself and then stepped out, jacket covering her gun she had hidden in the waistband of her pants. The holster had been left with Boone. She was a few feet away when she heard Boone.

 

“I’ve got your back.” She nodded slightly, almost imperceptibly. Then down toward the tent she walked. The Legionaries were spread out, crimson tents pitched in staggered levels as the landscape descended. The captives were in a ring around a campfire situated between the large main tent and two other smaller ones. As she approached, one of the guards whistled. Two more Legionaries were scrambling up toward her within a few seconds, one training a gun on her face. Six was really, really tired of having guns pointed at her face. She scratched at her left temple.

 

“You chose an auspicious day to stumble onto our camp profligate. We are leaving tomorrow and another slave to add to the wagons is fortunate for us.”

 

“I just wanted some water, please, I can just leave.” Six put her hands up in supplication, backing up slowly. She had to get Boone a clear line of sight, and lead the Legionaries away from the captives. A low chuckle escaped the man and he followed her step for step.

 

“No, you will not be leaving.” Just as he lunged for her, Six heard the glorious crack of Boone’s rifle. The man fell back into the sand, and she was firing at the others. The captives were screaming at this point, making it difficult to hear the footsteps that carried more of the Legionaries. Six jumped back just in time to avoid another spear to the torso as she rounded the side of the tent. Behind her, Boone was making a slow descent down the slope she had used, firing with each step. Six was determined to not be outdone.

 

Between the two of them they made quick work of the camp. When they undid the binds of the captives, 2 ran off screaming. The Powder Gangers tried to pilfer the Legionaries for weapons, but Boone sent them scurrying off with several rounds of rifle fire. The four who stuck around seemed to have an unofficial leader in a woman named Marion. They huddled behind her, and for her part Marion jutted her chin out and stared hatefully.

 

“What the hell are you two up to?” Six looked at the woman, then back to Boone. He just shrugged and continued checking the bodies for ammo.

 

“Well currently we’re being shit on for helping out apparently. We’re not up to anything.” If Marion squinted at Six any harder her eyes would be closed completely.

 

“No one helps out in this desert without expecting something in return.”

 

“I don’t have anything clever to say back to that. It’s been a long day of walking and quiet. Call us no one I guess.”

 

“And where do you expect us to go? We lived in Nipton.” At this Six’s face softened, as did her tone.

 

“I saw Nipton. One of the survivors actually told me about you all being taken.” She pinched her nose, thinking.

 

“Are you a decent shot? Novac just had a recent opening for a sniper position?” Boone snorted, shaking his head to cover it.

 

It turned out Marion was a good shot with a rifle. Six and Boone let the women pick over the weapons from the Legionaries before pointing them in the direction of Novac. The two of them started making their own way toward Boulder City.

 

“What if they cause trouble in Novac? Nipton wasn’t exactly known for their kind townspeople.” Boone asked as they watched them leave. Six shrugged one shoulder.

 

“Then Manny can shoot them. And Alice McBride acts as sweet as Dandy Boy Apples, but I’m telling you that woman has a mean streak. I heard her giving Dusty what for when I was camped out by their house.”

 

“She’s the only one No-bark fears. Speaking of…” Six was walking backward while he pulled something out of his pocket so that she could look him in the eye while he spoke. As she watched, he pulled out a small bottle of wonder glue.

 

“No-bark was extremely unhappy you stole this.”

 

“Hey, I left him some caps.”

 

“He was unimpressed. Why did you take a bottle of wonder glue and then leave it behind?”

 

“I was in a firefight with a bunch of Legionaries in Nipton. There was one huge asshole who had a spear. He got me pretty good.” She reached down and pulled up her shirt to expose the still angry wound that started just at the bottom of her ribs, about five inches long.

 

“I needed something to close it until I could get back to Goodsprings and get stitches.”

 

“You were in a firefight with Legionaries in Nipton? By yourself?”

 

“No, I had ED-E with me at the end. And I suppose it’s not fair to call it a firefight since I blew most of them up with frag mines. The one I really wanted to kill got away though. He had a ridiculous dog skin on his head.” She heard Boone’s sharp intake of breath, and raised an eyebrow at him.

 

“Someone you knew?” Boone shook his head.

 

“Not personally, just knew of him. He’s called Vulpes Inculta, and he has done some horrifying things. You’re lucky to be alive.” Six shrugged again and turned forward, dropping her shirt as she did so.

 

“The next time I see him, I’m going to kill him.”

 

“Then I’m glad I’m traveling with you. That bastard needs to be taken down.”

 

“They all need taken down.” Boone just grunted his agreement.

 

 

                                                              *    *    *

When they set camp for the evening, Boone took the first watch. The moon was waning, but was still bright enough they didn’t need a fire. Boone had offered to share his can of pork ‘n beans with her but she passed, explaining she hated Pre-War food. Instead she sipped water out of her canteen. After a while of silence, she slipped off on her own behind a rock. When she returned to her pack and settled down, her skin was free of the dirt and grime she had been covered in. A curious, clean smell followed her. He considered asking her about it, but she quickly closed her eyes.

The small rock he climbed onto for a vantage point was uncomfortable enough he had to stand, which provided him a better view of the desert. It was almost jarring to not see his bridge, to be staring out at the highway that would carry them to the civilization Carla had been desperate to return to. His breath caught, and he fumbled for his crushed pack of cigarettes. He had just lit one when Six’s voice scared the shit out of him near his boots.

 

“So, it was you who had a bead on me that night.” Boone managed to remain outwardly calm, even though his heart was thudding in his throat.

 

“What?”

 

“When I first stumbled into Novac, I thought someone was watching me, but wasn’t sure until I could smell the smoke. Gave you dead away even though I couldn’t see you.” Boone dropped the cigarette stubbing it out beneath his boot. Six motioned for him to move so she could climb up and take her shift.

He went to lay down, pillowing his head on his own lumpy backpack, tossing the pack of cigarettes somewhere behind him.

 

“Don’t let anything kill us.” Six laughed quietly.

 

“You worry too much.” Boone sank into sleep, too tired to dream.

 

* * *

 

The next morning, the sound of Six singing woke him up. Tiredness wracked him, his internal sleep schedule completely off.

 

“Are you always this chipper in the morning?”

 

“Are you always this grumpy?”

 

“You know there are always things wanting to kill us, even at the ass crack of dawn. Daylight does not mean safety.”

 

“We’re not traveling yet, remember came up with these terms.” Boone grumbled under his breath at her, and she laughed at his mumbled complaints. He had just finished washing as best he could with a bottle of grey water when Six walked toward him with several empty bottles. The shooting lessons he had promised her. Right. Taking the bottles from her, he walked a good distance away and set them up.

 

“The first thing you need to remember is to know how your gun feels. We’ll use mine for now, but we’ll have to get you one of your own. Hold it like this, and when you fire, the stock will come straight back into you.” He adjusted her grip, pushed the stock tighter to her shoulder. He watched as she aimed, pulling the trigger on her inhale. She missed the bottle by a few inches.

 

“No. Aim, breathe, exhale and then fire on that pause before your next breath.” She did as he instructed, this time the bullet just barely missed. Boone nodded his silent approval.

 

“Again, and this time, squeeze the trigger all the way back.” Another near miss, and then the first bottle shattered. Six let out a quiet laugh and pumped her fist in the air. Then she promptly missed the next shot.  Boone packed up what little he had scattered about as Six practiced by herself. She handed him his gun back after a few minutes.

 

“We’ll practice some more later, maybe find you a rifle of your own. And just so we’re on the same page, we are officially traveling.” Six started humming as she lead the way back onto the road.

 

* * *

Boulder City was almost entirely rubble. Large piles of broken concrete dotted the landscape, and blast marks were still scorched onto the road and building surfaces. Checking her Pip-Boy, Six was surprised to see how close to the 188 Trading Post it was. She was going to end up zig zagging all over this desert before this was over. She was looking over the slip of paper Manny had given her when Boone nudged her with his rifle, pointing ahead of them.

 

A man in dressed fully in an NCR uniform is arguing with someone on a radio set up beside a door. Six walked over just as he threw the mic onto the table. She cleared her throat, causing him to jump. He whirled facing them, adopting a fighting stance. He relaxed when he saw Boone, even though his hand had been reaching for his rifle.

 

“First recon man, eh? Welcome.” He ignored Six and extended his hand to Boone. Six pinched the bridge of her nose in irritation. She was pleasantly surprised when Boone ignored his outstretched hand and instead gestured to her.

 

“Six is who you want to talk to. I’m just along for the ride.” She just barely managed to keep her grin from making an appearance as the man dejectedly dropped his hand back to his side where it stayed.

 

 

 “Ma’am.  I’m Lieutenant Monroe. Not sure what business you have in this area, but the entire place is on lockdown. We have some Great Kahns who have decided to take two of the troopers under my command as hostages.”  Six perked up at that.

 

“Any of them have a brown mohawk with a sorry excuse for a goatee?”

 

“A few  of them, yes. Mohawks are popular among the Kahns.” Six’s temple ached, and she rubbed at the still tender skin from the bullet wound her hair was hiding. Something scraped at the edges of her memory, and she tried to pull it to the front.

 

“This particular douchebag had a flaming heart on his jacket. With a vine I think? Yes, a vine.”

 

“Well two of them did. I think at least one of them in there matches your description.”

 

“Well he has something of mine, so if you don’t mind-” Six moved to step around him, but the Lieutenant moved with her, positioning himself between her and the door. She glared at him.

 

“Look, I have orders from my superiors to open fire on the Great Khans in there. We do that, and my people are dead. However, if someone outside of the NCR were to be able to negotiate their release…” He stared at her pointedly.

 

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. Save your people. Get out of my way.” She turned and glanced at Boone.

“Are you coming in or sitting this one out.” He took his rifle in his hands, held at the ready.

 

“I’ve got your back.”

 

                                                                                                                                                                      * * *

Boone wet his lips nervously, rifle tight against his shoulder. A few pieces of jagged concrete were digging into his stomach, but this position gave him the best line of sight. He could just make out Six’s head and the head of the Kahn she was talking to. They were both gesturing angrily, and while he couldn’t understand the words, the furious tone from both of them was evident. He had told her before she went in to just drop and he would start firing. Six raised her arms and Boone’s finger tightened barely over the trigger. It wasn’t in self-defense though, she just continued yelling.

 

After a few minutes of quiet, Boone almost preferred the shouting. The door banged open, and a NCR trooper stumbled out, blinking in the sudden bright light.

 

“Ackerman! Get your ass over here!” The man ran to the other trooper who yelled, skidding in the rubble.

 

Six exited, closing the door behind her tightly. She held up a single finger at him, then moved to the door Lieutenant Monroe waited behind, disappearing through it. Boone looked back down through the scope, his view unimpeded this time. Six was right, that was a poor excuse for a goatee. Six made her way back, knocking on the door. He could hear their words now.

 

“Alright Jessup, let Gilbert out, then the troopers will retreat and you can walk out.”

 

“You know, you’re alright for dead woman with a fucked-up face. Take this, and make sure you shove it up Benny’s ass when you see him.”

 

“Hurry up before I change my mind you prick.” Jessup laughed as he rapped his knuckles on the door next to the one he and Six had been in. The door opened and a nervous woman with shaggy blonde hair was forcefully shoved out. She took a brief look around, stunned, until Six gently nudged her in the direction of Monroe. As she said they would, the troopers retreated one by one.

 

Boone silently slipped back down, rounding the side of the rubble cautiously. Jessup drew his revolver and pointed it at him, his eyes immediately narrowing at his beret. Six moved between the two of them immediately.

 

“Whoa, whoa Jessup. He’s with me, shoot him and all bets are off, and I will have to kill _you_ this time.”

 

“Did you know you’re traveling with a fucking murderer?”

 

“Did you know you’re a hypocritical asshat? Back the fuck off.” Jessup lowered his gun, and Six moved closer to Boone, but he saw the questioning look she gave him. The two of them walked to the door as the Khans waited. As they stepped through, Monroe had his gun raised, as did the other NCR troopers.

 

“What the hell?” The anger radiating off of her was nearly palpable, and this time both of them drew their weapons.

 

“I have orders. They want the Khans gone.” Lieutenant Monroe looked conflicted at least, Boone noted. Not that it was helping his case with Six. She holstered her 10mm and stalked up to him, finger poking his chest.

 

“You gave your word that they could go free.”

 

“This is out of my hands. Sorry ma’am.” Six was short, only coming up to the Lieutenant’s chin, but she seemed to puff herself up as she poked him again.

 

“You were willing to disobey orders to save the lives of your men, and now you won’t do the same to save even more lives?”

 

“They’re Kahns, it’s not the same-“ Six cut him off with a snarl and actually pushed into Monroe hard enough he stepped back.

 

“They’re still people.” Monroe stared down into Six angrily, but she refused to budge. Boone was calculating their chances of survival and deciding who he should shoot first. The troopers they had negotiated with had their guns drawn, but held toward the ground. They would drop their weapons once he fired. Boone had just settled on the grizzled man on his right who was aiming at Six but watching him when Monroe sighed in defeat.

 

“Fine. They can go. None of this feels right anyway.” Boone watched as they all moved away one by one, the grizzled man the last to turn. Yeah, he was the first one Boone would have needed to shoot. The two of them waited until the troopers had disappeared before Six knocked on the door. The Kahns took their turn at leaving, heading the opposite direction. Once they were all gone, Six sighed, sagging against the door.

 

“Well Boone, I don’t know about you, but I need a damn drink.”

 

“You’re in luck, I know the man who runs the only saloon around here.”

 

                                                  * * *

 

Ike greeted them warmly when they walked in. It only took him a moment to recognize Boone, and then he ushered the two of them to “the best seats in the house”. They were the only two in the bar. The whiskey burned its familiar path down his throat, and he savored every drop. Six threw hers back quickly, motioning for another. Ike was trying to chat her up with every drink he brought her.

 

“You should say hi to Kowalski darling, he gets even less business than I do.” Boone lifted his head from his drink in time to catch Ike giving her a wink.

 

“You won’t get any business if you’re dead, and that’s where you’re headed if you don’t just shut up and bring me my drinks.” Ike looked at Boone, who gave him a smirk.

 

“You heard her, get her a drink.” Ike bustled off when the door opened again, and a few workers walked in. They were discussing some repairs to the building, Ike getting them a round of beer before as they settled.

 

“You’re having repairs done? Where are you getting concrete from?” Ike handed them both another shot of whiskey.

 

“You didn’t hear? Some badass wastelander cleared out the deathclaw nest that had taken over the quarry in Sloan.” Out of the corner of his eye, Six paused with her glass almost to her lips. She threw it back when he turned to look at her.

 

“I heard they didn’t do it by themselves, so it’s less impressive.” Six said, wiping her hand across her lips. Ike turned to stare at her incredulously.

 

“Are you kidding me? Chomps Lewis raised me up on the radio himself. The man said some parts needed fixing because of the explosion, but that the Wastelander took out almost a dozen when you count the babies. He said some of them had their heads bashed in!” Ike moved back to the workers as Boone continued to stare at Six. A blush crept over her cheeks as she pointedly ignored him.

 

“Six.”

 

“What?”

 

“Did you really take out that many deathclaws?”

 

“I think it was more like ten, and that is including a few babies. Well, eleven when you count the alpha.”

 

“You meleed with a deathclaw?”

 

“What? No, of course not.” Six snorted, finishing her whiskey.

 

“That was Veronica. That power fist of hers is seriously overclocked and a few of them skirted the bomb I made. It was pretty neat watching her knock a tooth out of one of them though. ED-E got caught on a ledge and was trying to lay down cover fire from a weird angle and almost hit us a few times.”

 

“The woman you had in Novac beat a deathclaw to death.” Six smiled at him, waving away Ike when he offered her another shot.

 

“She’s punchy like that.” Boone almost chuckled, wondering what the hell he had gotten himself into. If she let a deathclaw get that close to him, they were both doomed.

 

 

 


	5. For Hire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter is a bit short this time. Apologies in advance.

“Two thousand caps? Are you shitting me, two thousand caps?! Who even carries that many caps? No one asshole!” Six stepped closer to the Securitron, arms raised above her head for emphasis. Boone shifted from foot to foot nervously beside her.

“Self-control is a virtue citizen.”

“I’ll show you self-control when I calmly shove your TV screen head right up-“

“Six, this isn’t working.” Boone’s words were completely ignored.

“Right up that other one-wheeler’s ass.” Another step, and the Securitron trained its Gatling laser at her. 

“Your move, creep.” The robotic voice took away from the anger the machine was supposed to be emulating, but Six hesitated just long enough for Boone to grab her by the jacket and begin dragging her away. She struggled momentarily but Boone kept pulling. The Securitron dropped its weapon and turned its back when they were far enough away. 

“Okay. Okay Boone! I’ve calmed down.” Shrugging his hands off, Six straightened her jacket and then flipped off the robots milling about the strip’s entrance with both hands. Boone made a disapproving noise at her, but Six ignored him. 

“How the fuck am I going to come up with two thousand caps?” She ran her hands through her hair, wincing when the pain reminded her of what she owed Suit who hid behind those damn walls. 

“There is always money to be made doing work around Freeside. If you can keep your temper in check and follow through as you are asked to.” Six scoffed at him. 

“Did you not hear that Securitron refer to me as a virtuous citizen Boone?” 

“Yeah, right.”

“Exactly. So, where do we begin?” Boone pointed a thumb over his shoulder. Six squinted, trying to make out what he was gesturing to. 

“The Atomic Wrangler?”

“Trust me. The Garret twins always have a job they need someone to take care of.” Six narrowed her eyes at him.

“I’m not killing anyone just for caps.” Boone stared at her, eyes hidden behind his sunglasses that he always seemed to be wearing, but the corners of his mouth turned down.

“That’s not at all what I was getting at. They may have some questionable business ventures, but I have done jobs for them before when I was at the Strip on leave and looking for caps. Murder is not their gig Six.” Boone began leading the way toward the Wrangler, taking point for the first time since they began traveling together. Six followed him.

“You have been in the Strip before?”

“Yeah, met my- met my wife there.” She thought about asking, pushing for a bit of information, but Boone’s lips pressed into a thin line. He was done talking. As they walked, Six realized how little she knew about Boone. She was starting to learn to read his expressions at least. It would be easier if she could see his eyes, but his mouth was expressive enough for most things. His bottom lip was fuller than his upper lip, both incredibly smooth. With a start Six realized she was staring, eyes dropping to her feet. Her body was a traitorous thing, heat creeping from throat to the tips of her ears. 

Boone held the door to the Wrangler open for her, and the blush deepened as she passed him. Get a grip, Six. The air inside was cooler, caressing her flaming skin and helping to steady her. Eyes adjusting to the dim light, Six took in her surroundings. Armed guards lingered on either side of the door they had just entered in. 

There was a ghoul on stage, facing out to empty, worn chairs. Listening to a few of his jokes she understood why no one was watching his act. They were dreadful. Six was pretty sure the worn carpet running the length of the floor between the stage and the bar was the largest one she had ever seen before. Everything here was brown and red, echoing the Mojave it was supposed to be providing an escape from. Six could hear the unmistakable sounds of gambling further in the building. 

Boone walked toward the bar, sitting down and motioning for a drink. The guards around the room watched the man and woman behind the bar with a protective eye. They must be the Garret twins. By the time Six decided how best to ask about work, Boone was knocking back his second drink. Sliding into the seat next to him, she ordered a Nuka-Cola.

“So, if a girl found herself in need of some caps around here…” The man looked her over, and Six stared right back at him, back straightening from its slouched position. Something echoed in her mind, a reminder someone gave her once. You’re small, short. People will try to write you off as useless. Carry yourself in a way that demands they pay attention to what you can do instead of what they think you can’t do. 

“Sorry sweetheart, we don’t allow subcontractors here. If you want to have access to the clients here, you have to be one of our girls.” Six’s face burned again as she realized what he was implying.

“What? No! I mean, no, I am looking to make caps by other work. Not that there is anything wrong with that, or the people who do that! Ummmm...” Beside her Boone snorted. 

“She’s good at talking to people James. Convincing them to do stuff they normally wouldn’t do.” James looked at her again, an eyebrow raised. While she appreciated Boone’s vote of confidence personally, this was another time someone had not taken her seriously until he spoke up for her. Six leveled her gaze at James, cooling her voice as she spoke.

“I don’t need Boone to vouch for me either. Give me a job, no caps upfront, and I’ll show you what fast and efficient looks like.” James smiled at her then, a toothy grin that reached all the way to his eyes.  
“Alright, slide on down to Francine. Take care of the work she has for you and then come back and see me if you make it through her list.” Six polished off her Nuka, then did just that, moving down to stand in front of Francine Garret. The resemblance between the twins was obvious in their looks. Both sported dark brown hair and dull green eyes. Francine’s hair was pulled back in a severe bun. Where James at least had a somewhat happy face and nice smile, severity pulsed out of Francine. Six had just opened her mouth when Francine slid a sheet of paper to her. Names in neat handwriting were listed, alphabetically. 

Grecks  
Lady Jane  
Santiago

“Any idea where to start?” Six pocketed the list, looking up to see a wry smirk on Francine’s face.

“How is me doing part of the work for you showcasing how efficient you are? Oh, and I’d prefer you not kill anyone with a debt. It’s a bit difficult to collect on a corpse.”

“Not a problem.” Six turned toward Boone, getting ready to ask him if he was coming with her. She stopped when she saw his slumped posture, the way he stared into his drink. He was going to be busy for a while. Six headed back out on her own.

* * *

Freeside was relatively small, and Six ended up befriending two small kids running around the Old Mormon Fort. She thought at first the giant rat was chasing them, and fired her 10mm pistol at it. It took everything she had not to vomit onto the cracked pavement when they began eating it. She bought two skewers from the vendor near the gate, and brought it back to them. They approached her with wide, cautious eyes when she held out the food, snatching it away and eating ravenously. Six wondered if all of the skin discoloration was dirt as they shied away when she moved too quickly. 

“Thanks lady!”

“Sure thing. Are you still hungry?” Excited nods answered her.

“Tell you what. I’m trying to find a few people who live around here, but I’m new to the area. You two though, you look like you know everything about anything around here. Can you help me find them?” As it turned out, the little boys did know nearly everything. They ran off with a couple caps she paid them with, laughing joyously. She walked back to the vendor, shoving some caps at him and asking him to make sure the boys ate twice a day for the next week. One of the men in black jackets at the gate watched her with interest. 

Grecks and Santiago were easy enough to collect from, and then she tracked down Lady Jane. The woman was put together well, she had to admit. The woman smiled sweetly as Six approached.

“Hello. Lovely to meet you.” Jane’s voice was husky, and she peeked up through long lashes. Six rolled her eyes and curled her fingers into a fist.

“Look, I’ve had a long day, and I punched the shit out of the last two people who fucked around on paying up what they owe the Garret twins. Would you like to be lucky number three? I bet I could knock you out on the first swing and just take the caps.” Jane backed up, immediately spinning a sob story about how her caravan was raided near a cave. Six pulled her fist back and Jane’s face changed from tearing up to resigned. She threw a bag of caps at Six’s feet.

“I hope you choke on them!” Jane called over her shoulder as she booked it in the other direction. Six sighed, satisfied, adding the other caps she had collected to the bag. There was shuffling behind her. When she turned, Six found herself face to face with three dirty thugs.

“Shiiiit.”

* * * 

Boone was drunk. Painfully so. His tongue felt sluggish in his mouth, and when he tried to order another whiskey, James was swimming in front of him. A cool glass was placed in his hand, and he managed to get it to his lips. Water cascaded down his throat, cooling and soothing instead of the burn he expected. 

“Th- ‘s not- is water. I want to burn.” 

“Don’t get loud now Boone. We both know Francine will have you tossed outside if you do. Have another water.” Boone sighed, dropping his head down onto the bar top. He hadn’t meant to start drinking. Standing outside the gate to the Strip had brought thoughts of Carla flooding back, meeting her, taking her to the roof of the Tops to watch the sunset. Memories he couldn’t face.

It was more bitter than sweet, and all he had wanted to do was forget. Except he couldn’t forget, and now he was drunk and miserable. Drunk and miserable and Hadrian wouldn’t shut up with his awful jokes. A few people had apparently become had drank enough to find his jokes funny, and they laughed loudly, irritating him even more. He actually wished Six was here to distract him. He would even take her singing.

As if he had summoned her with his thoughts, Six was at his shoulder. 

“Hey big guy. Francine says you have had plenty. She’s being nice enough to let you rent a room here to sleep it off. And when I say let you rent a room, I mean me, because apparently you drank away your caps.” He turned toward her as she put one of his arms across her shoulder. Blood was smeared on her face, and her bottom lip had a large cut through it. Sweat clung to her, but that clean smell that he tried to place before was even more overpowering. Six forced him into shuffling away from the bar as he tried to ask her what the hell happened, his words slurring. She understood well enough anyway.

“A couple assholes picked a fight with me.”

“Ay tennnon-”

“Yeah yeah Boone. Do me a favor and you pay attention. We’ll be at the stairs in a minute.” Hadrian noticed their progress apparently, changing the subject of his jokes suddenly.

“Heh, and if you think I’m ugly, check out this broad. Your hair isn’t hiding that mug sweetheart. Nice ass, but leave the scars to the men, am I right?” A few chuckled in the crowd. Boone’s blood was instantly boiling. Boone mangled more words trying to get his point across. Six sighed, dragging his foot up the first stair with the hand that wasn’t keeping his arm across her shoulders. 

“No, you won’t shoot him because I already put your rifle upstairs. Comedy is crass Boone, laugh and let it go. Christ you’re fucking heavy. Please move your legs.” Boone did as he was told, more or less. He stumbled several times, but Six refused to let him fall. They somehow made it to one of the upstairs rooms the Wrangler rented out. Six dropped him heavily onto the bed, the mattress creaking under his weight, before sitting next to him

Boone’s rifle was on the floor next just beyond his reach. He could still shoot Hadrian. These thoughts were scattered when he felt a tugging at his feet. Six was untying his left boot, the right one already off. Embarrassment flooded him. He could take his own damn boots off. Boone lurched forward, meaning to sit up and pull his leg toward him. Instead he knocked right into Six, their heads colliding.

“Ouch, goddammit Boone.” His hands clumsily tried to pat the side of her face, near where he headbutted her. Fingers slipped beneath her hair, grazing rough, puckered skin, and the feeling of… stitches? He brushed her hair back, refusing to allow her to pull away from. He could see some fresh scarring, skin still healing. He knew those types of wounds, he had seen them in the NCR. People didn’t walk away from bullets to the face like that. His eyes were asking questions his mouth couldn’t form.

“Tomorrow, when you’re sober. Or done being hungover. You can ask me then.” She pulled his other boot off, dropping it to the floor with a thud.

“I’ll check on you later Boone. I need to find some wonderglue for my lip.” Six gently pushed on his chest, and Boone flopped back onto the bed. His head was swimming, and he felt his stomach rolling. Six turned off the light, beginning to shut the door. He wanted to tell her that she looked fine, and her eyes were a nice shade of grey. Instead, sleep began to pull him under. Just before he lost the tug of war with his consciousness, Boone realized what Six smelled like it; the desert after it rained.

* * * 

Pounding in his head woke him. Wait, it wasn’t just his head. Someone was also pounding heavily on the door. He groaned, hand gripping his rifle tightly. 

“Ten more minutes before you have to rent the room out for another night!” James yelled through the door, punctuating each word with a bang. 

“Alright, alright!” Boone groaned again, his head threatening to split open. His mouth had a terrible taste in it, his tongue thick and heavy. He managed to get his boots pulled on, avoiding vomiting when he bent over. That made him feel better about himself at least. 

When he made it down the stairs, James threw him a bottle of purified water that he miraculously managed to catch. Once he guzzled it down, his headache lessened. 

“Has Six been by?”

“The one with blue hair? Nope. After she walked you upstairs she left and I haven’t seen her since.”

Boone frowned, making his way out of the Wrangler. He asked the criers for the Silver Rush and Atomic Wrangler if they had seen Six. They said the same thing James had. He hurried through the gate, the thudding in his head now in time his pulse, which was speeding up the longer he went without finding her. 

So much for having her back. He was talking to the man selling food who said Six had been by, but that he had closed afterward and not seen her since when two street kids ran up, hands held out expectantly. The man gave them each a package wrapped in paper. Boone was turning away and preparing to head back toward the Strip entrance when one of the kids pulled on his hand. 

“Yeah?” He asked gruffly, the pain in his head doing nothing for his temperament. In response, the kid pulled him closer to the Old Mormon Fort. A few feet away from the huge doors, the kid dropped Boone’s hand, pointed, and then took off to where the older boy was waiting for him. 

When Boone entered the Fort, white lab coats greeted him everywhere he looked. He knew the Followers of the Apocalypse used the Fort as their main base of operations, but had never been inside it before. Just as exasperation took over, the distinct sound of Six’s voice reached his ears. Following it to the tent furthest down on the right, he found her sitting on a chair, facing away from him. A blonde man wearing dark glasses was stitching her lip. When Boone stepped into the tent, Six perked up noticeably.

“Boone! Are you feeling alright?” The man who was working on Six rolled his eyes.

“Six, for the third time, please stop talking. It’s hard to stitch your mouth when it won’t stay still.” Six sighed, staring at Boone expectantly.

“I’m fine, just a headache.”

“A headache and you smell terrible. Personal hygiene is important you know. There, all done Six.” 

“Boone, this is Arcade. Arcade, Boone.” The two men nodded at each other as Six looked at Arcade’s handiwork.

“Arcade gave me some leads on jobs, and he’s going to be tagging along with us.”

“I don’t remember giving a definite answer on that.” Arcade murmured as he passed through the tent flaps. Boone stepped toward Six, trying to get a good look at her face wound. She waved him away, and he had to reach out with thumb and finger to grip her chin, forcing her stay still as he examined it. He noticed her blush after a moment, then his eyes trailed up to her wide grey ones. Neither moved as they stared at one another, Boone’s hand having dropped back to his side.

Six looked away first, clearing her throat as her eyes looked about the tent, focusing everywhere except for Boone.

“That will never happen again.” Six tried to wave away his concerns again, turning to pick up her things.

“Things can get rough out here Boone, if you need a night off, you need a night off. We never agreed how long you wanted to travel with me anyway. You can leave at any time.” Boone thought about this. He could find work here, give up hunting Legionaries. He glanced at Six, turned away from him, and worry gnawed at him as he imagined her in the desert alone, or with only Arcade. 

“I told you, I’ve got your back.” Six turned and smiled at him widely, then grimaced and rubbed gingerly at her lip. 

“Going to have to be careful about smiling for a while I guess.”

“And I guess you’ll have to take it easy on the singing. I’m surprised you didn’t use wonderglue.” Six chuckled quietly.

“I did actually, Arcade had to peel it off to stitch it properly. That hurt like a bitch.”

“How did you end up in the fort?”

“Oh, I was headed back from buying wonderglue and a member of the King’s gang tracked me down. Francine moves quick with her recommendations by the way. I ended up staying the night there after the King invited me for dinner to discuss doing some work for him. I was given an escort to the Fort this morning.” Boone gave a curt nod, seething in anger at himself. He would do better from this point forward. Six left the tent and he followed.

At the door leading out of the Fort, Arcade was speaking with a woman wearing a mohawk and a lab coat. Boone noted the pack he was carrying as Six slid up toward him.

“I’m going to take this as a definite answer Arcade. Welcome to the team.”


	6. Close Call

Six’s ear drums were already echoing the sound of Boone’s rifle before she realized he had fired it. The sound of his gun was loud, but as she became more accustomed to it, she noticed other things. Her reflexes were getting faster, gun in hand before she even thought about it. The concussive effect that seemed to hit her in the chest was less startling. She noticed most the smug smirk Boone developed whenever the bullet hit its target. Which was always.

“Goddamit Boone, how am I supposed to get better when you keep stealing all the shots?” Boone actually let out a quiet chuckle this time. Six squinted, finally spotting the lone radscorpion he had taken out with a single shot in the distance.

“You’ll just have to pay attention and be quicker on the draw.” Arcade parroted Boone word for word, rolling his eyes. Six hid her smile behind her hand. Boone and Arcade seemed intent on developing a fairly antagonistic partnership. They had been traveling for three days now, settling into a rhythm. Boone and Six took turns on watch and Arcade generally took care of assembling a meal in the evening. After catching an entire pot of Brahmin stew on fire, Six was not allowed near the campfire again.

Arcade and Six chatted as he assembled some kind of vegetable soup. Whenever she asked him personal questions, he deflected quickly, turning it around to her. Being unable to answer left her frustrated so they kept their conversations light. Arcade dipped a mug into the pot bubbling on the low fire, handing it to Six. She could smell tomatoes and carrots, and even though it was a bit thin, her mouth watered. 

Suddenly remembering Boone standing alone on watch after her second helping, Six hurriedly brought him a cup. He turned toward her as she approached, taking the steaming mug with murmured thanks. She sat next to him in the dirt, looking up at the moon waning in the sky. The silence stretched, awkwardness settling over Six like a layer of dust. 

“We’re not far from the area where the caravans for the Followers were hit. Hopefully we can recover the supplies.” Boone grunted, and Six frowned. His body was turned away from her, and his shoulders hunched up. Six cleared her throat, trying again.

“I think I’m getting better at shooting. How about a wager for tomorrow?” At this Boone turned toward her, cautiously.

“Whoever loses between the two of us for kill counts has to fix dinner instead of Arcade tomorrow.” Boone scoffed, shaking his head slightly.

“If you’re trying to make it so that I purposely lose, you’ll be disappointed.” 

“Is that an acceptance of my challenge I hear?” Six moved to stand in front of him, the smirk on her face refusing to hide anymore. 

“You probably shouldn’t tell Arcade we’ll be eating burnt sludge for dinner tomorrow until you start cooking then. Wouldn’t want him to be in a bad mood for the entire day.” She flashed him a large grin, then moved back toward the campfire, humming as she went. She sat next to Arcade, and to her surprise, he hummed along with her. Tentatively, she sang out a few notes.

“I don’t want to set the world on fire.” Arcade gave Six a shy grin, then joined his voice to hers.

“I just want to start a flame in your heart.” Behind them, Boone let out a loud groan of frustration.

* * *   
Boone kneeled, inspecting the tracks in the desert floor. To his right, Six snapped to attention, gun firing off in her hand once, then twice. The bloatfly he had purposely been ignoring went down.

“Ha! I got it! I do believe that leaves us tied Boone.” He nodded curtly, focused on the tracks. The rest of the flies gathering over the rise of the hill would catch him back up once they recovered the medical supplies that had been moved into the cave yawning open in the hillside.

“If you’re done bragging prematurely, the supplies were carried into here. They were probably seeking some shelter.” Six turned back toward him, holstering her 10mm. She walked over and stared down, watching as he pointed out the way the marks indicated the direction they needed to go in. Arcade joined them, frowning at the cave. 

“You mean that you intend to go into there, when we have no light?”

“Oh Arcade, we have the Pip-Boy. The light on it will work well enough.” Arcade let out a strangled noise of disbelief.

“I’m not going in there just to wind up shot when the meat head mistakes me for a ghoul because he can’t see well enough to tell the difference.”

“If I shot you it would be on purpose, because you never shut up.”

“That’s enough boys. Arcade, you can stay put and guard the entrance, make sure no one doubles back around while we scout the cave. Boone, you come with me and we will find the supplies.” Six turned away without waiting to see his nod. He had to lengthen his stride to catch up with her quick steps. He noticed her rubbing at the left side of her head.

“Did you hear that sound?” They had just reached the mouth of the cave, her Pip-Boy flicking on. Boone shook his head at her, a slight frown on his face. Six shook her head, then stepped in. He kept in front of Six just a little, using the light to aid as he scouted a foot or so ahead of her. The rock walls were fairly close together, creating a narrow passage.

Boone smelled the blood before he saw it, the thick metallic scent unmistakable. The walls were slick with it in places, and his boots nearly slipped on a large puddle of it. Scraps of torn cloth were strewn about. Six muttered a quiet curse behind him. The cave air cooled as they descended, drying the drops of sweat clinging to his skin. 

The passage appeared to open up in front of them while also heading down. Boone had started forward again when the Pip-Boy flung back in the other direction, plunging him into darkness. 

“I need the light over here.”

“Boone I’m telling you, I fucking heard something.” 

“We already know there’s nothing back the way we came. Just shine the light ahead of us so we can keep moving.” The passageway lit up again, as Six moved closer to Boone. He had only gone a few steps before he felt the change through his boots, hearing and feeling the low cracking sound. Reaching out, he shoved Six ahead just as the cave floor gave way beneath his feet. He had just enough time to hope that whatever he hit killed him outright instead of leaving him mangled before he landed.

Cool water broke his fall instead of sharp rocks. Boone gasped slightly in surprise, and discovered the water also tasted brackish, with an odd flavor he couldn’t place. An underground lake most likely. Kicking back up, he broke the surface. Six’s voice was strained above him. 

“Boone? Boone! Holy shit I thought you were dead. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Landed in some water. I can’t see anything.”

“Yeah, I’ve still got the Pip-Boy up here.”

“Shine the light down here, I need to find my rifle. My sunglasses are probably lost.” There was a pause, and then the sounds of movement. He treaded water as he listened to Six grunting, then she cursed again. The Pip-Boy came tumbling down, landing in front of him. Boone grabbed ahold of it and shined it back up on Six. She was dangling by one arm for a moment before gripping onto the narrow ledge she was precariously hanging onto. Her legs dangled down into the chasm created when the passageway had crumbled beneath them.

“This opening is decently large Six. Just drop down, you’ll clear the sides.”

“Umm, no, that’s ok. I think I can just pull myself up! Or I can yell for Arcade to come help. Maybe he can hear us.” The distinct waver of fear threaded her voice. Boone looked at her arms, shaking from the effort of holding herself onto the ledge. 

“Don’t be ridiculous. Just drop down.”

“I- goddamit. I just remembered I can’t swim Boone.” 

“You can’t swim. And you just now realized this?” 

“We live in a freaking desert Boone. Who the fuck can swim out here?” 

“I can swim.” 

“Good for you. Now, I’m pretty sure if I just grab-“ Whatever Six was about to say was cut off as a crack split the air, the ledge she was gripping breaking off the wall. There was the beginning of a scream before she plunged into the water as well. After a moment of her not coming back up on her own, Boone reached down and grabbed hold of her arm and pulling hard. Six came up coughing and spluttering, fingernails digging into his arms painfully as she clung to him. 

“The wall Six, grab the wall before you drown both of us.” After helping her find a spot to grip, Boone shined the light around them, trying to find somewhere they could climb. Across from them looked to be another, sturdier ledge. That was their way out. He had just started toward it when a low sound echoed around them. Boone turned slowly, trying to determine where it was coming from. 

“I told you! That’s what I heard earlier!” 

“Get your gun, give me the machete.” Another call sounded, nearer this time. Six handed Boone her 10mm, keeping the machete for herself.

“You’re a better shot and we both know melee isn’t your strong suit.. What is it?” Six’s voice was barely a whisper, but it didn’t matter. They were being hunted already. 

“Sounds like a lakelurk. That ledge over there, we’ll swim to it and I’ll boost you over. You can then pull me up. We’ll have a better chance of survival if we are out of the water.” Boone began making his way back toward Six. He was almost to her when a large bubble broke the surface of the water between them. Six jerked her eyes up to him, the light from the Pip-Boy illuminating the fear on her face. Boone’s own heart began pounding. She reached her arm toward him. Just as his fingers brushed her outstretched ones, Six was pulled under.

Boone yelled out her name, then dove down. The light did not penetrate well, leaving Boone searching with his hands as much as his eyes. He swam down further, lungs straining, pulse beating a heavy rhythm in his head. A dark cloud began floating up toward him.

He kicked hard, heading down through the blood, shoving the panic down. His lungs were on fire, brain desperately crying out for air. Suddenly he saw blue hair waving just below him. He gripped it tightly, yanking and kicking back toward the surface. Sweet air flooded his lungs, and beside him Six was gulping breaths in as well. Dragging both of them, he made it over to the ledge. Still breathing hard, Six took a moment to grin at him.

“What?” Bringing her arm up, she lifted his rifle out of the water, gripping it by the barrel.

“I found your gun.” 

* * *   
Geckos were not something Six thought of as appetizing. It was difficult to think anything outside of “Oh shit,” when an angry lizard that was usually taller than a person was bearing down on you. Sometimes they even spit fire or poison. However right now, the smell of gecko steak chunks roasting on kebab skewers rising up from the campfire were making her stomach growl. Boone had put on fresh skewers as the others were cooling. 

Boone was on watch, always taking longer shifts than her or Arcade did. He was directly parallel to them, angled slightly in their direction, but Six chanced sneaking a chunk of meat anyway, fingers quickly popping it into her mouth. Arcade tried to follow her, but Boone’s voice boomed out toward them as soon as he leaned forward. 

“Don’t even think about it Arcade. They’ll be done when they’re done.” Six sniggered, snatching another one for herself. Arcade glared at her over the rims of his glasses. 

“Helps when you’re the favorite who can get away with anything.” Six chuckled, nudging him and taking the entire rest of the skewer to share. 

“Boone doesn’t have favorites, and even if he did, he wouldn’t let anyone slide.” Arcade mumbled something under his breath but took the chunk of steak from her anyway. Six had just thrown the skewer in an attempt to hide the evidence when Boone headed back toward them. 

“I’m still not convinced that this bet was handled fairly. It should have been bullets only that counted. You swinging that machete around and getting blood everywhere created a visual impairment.”

“Again Boone, you have to be really specific in your wording of bets with me.”

“I’m beginning to figure that out.” He pulled the rest of the skewers off and settled on Six’s left. As he passed her a cooled skewer, the light from the setting sun reminded her he had lost his sunglasses in the cave. His pale green eyes had flecks of gold in them, and she accidentally dropped Arcade’s portion in the dirt as she stared. Boone’s brow arched beneath his beret, and Six’s face flushed. 

“Your eyes are green.” 

“Yes.” Nervousness took over her, and her mouth ran wild. 

“They’re nice to look at actually. You should take your sunglasses off more often.” Boone grunted in response as Arcade chuckled, brushing sand off his meal. When Boone turned back to the fire, the tips of his ears were crimson. Six grinned, vowing to see him blush more. Arcade fiddled with her Pip-Boy until he picked up music. The two of them quietly sang in time to the music, and for the first time, Boone didn’t complain.

 

* * *   
The jobs they picked up sent them traveling back and forth. Boone knew Six had no control over the tasks they were given, but the back and forth was starting to grate on him a bit. Six picked up a broadcast in code from Ranger Andy asking them to head back toward Novac. When she read the message aloud, Boone’s heart picked up its pace slightly. He dropped his spoon back into his half-eaten cup of dinner, startling Six who arched her brow at him. 

“What?” He snapped at her, then walked away to swap places with Arcade without waiting to hear her reply. 

“I’ve been on watch for 20 minutes.”

“Shove off.”

“Ok, sheesh. Just when I think you’re alright, you morph back into an asshole.” Disappointment at himself and regret hearing Arcade’s words settled over Boone. He knew he should apologize, to Arcade and explain to Six that the thought of going back to Novac made his palms sweaty even though the evening air was cool. Instead he grunted and turned his back on the fire. 

The closer they got to Novac, the worse his mood became. He ignored his companions until Six asked him what was wrong, and then he snarled a vicious “Nothing!” at her. Once the bridge came into view Boone struggled for an excuse to not continue on.

“Since it won’t take you guys long, I’ll wait here, make sure the way back remains clear.” He could kick himself for his lack of imagination. Instead of questioning him, Six simply nodded. 

“Sounds like a plan. We’ll be right back.” The two of them slipped across the bridge. Boone paced back and forth a bit, then sighted down his scope. Six and Arcade were already out of view, so he checked the mouth of the dinosaur. The woman Six had sent to Novac, Marion, had him in her sights as well. Boone nodded approvingly, then Marion dropped her scope with a wave friendlier than he expected. 

True to her word, Six and Arcade returned quickly. Her mouth was set in a grim line, and she set off at a brisk pace as she filled Boone in. 

“Andy hasn’t heard from Ranger Station Charlie in a while and he wants us to check it out.” Quiet fell over the trio as they moved out. 

“The Legion is the only group organized enough and with enough manpower to take on a fully staffed NCR ranger station.” 

“I know Boone. We go in prepared for the worst.” The thought of killing Legionaries and the distance they were putting between them and Novac brightened his mood considerably. 

“I’ve got your back.” Six flashed him a small smile and then they all hurried southwest. 

Ranger Station Charlie was silent when they approached. Six took point, Boone and Arcade on either side. They quickly cleared the trailers forming a perimeter and then moved toward the main building. Boone could smell copper in the air and his mouth tightened. He looked back at Six and Arcade, the looks they gave him confirmed they could smell it too. Six turned the knob of the door and flung it open, stepping back while Arcade and Boone stepped in and swept the main room. It was empty except for the bodies.

“There’s a trip wire over here in the door leading to the second room.” Arcade called out, kneeling to inspect the doorplate. Boone grunted his answer, stepping over the bodies of the two troopers on the floor and clearing the small bathroom. Six was working on disarming the shotgun trap when he came back in, giving him a moment to look around. The woman laying on the floor was in a state of partial undress, some bruising on her neck in the shape of fingers. Her hair was blonde, the same shade Carla’s had been. 

The blood in his veins seemed to be turning into sludge, his breath becoming slightly raspy. His ears stopped functioning properly and the only thing he could hear was his heartbeat, which seemed to echo throughout his head. Thud, thud, thud.

Boone couldn’t leave her there, couldn’t leave any of them there. He reached down and pulled her pants back to where they should be, then hooked his arms under the woman’s, tugging. He made it a foot or so when he was hit from behind. This forced him to drop the body, and he whirled about in anger.  
Six looked to be screaming something at him, pulling hard on his arm. Arcade was behind her, trying to pull her toward the door. Confusion took hold of Boone for a moment, and then Six smacked him once in the chest. As if a bubble had burst inside of his ears, sounds came roaring back to him suddenly.

“-your ass Boone! MOVE NOW!” He could just hear the distant sound of beeping under her word. It was only when Arcade wrenched the doors open and pulled Six through them that Boone realize what was happening. He thought of Carla, not happy as she had been when they rented a room on the Strip, or when she grudgingly accepted living in their house at Novac. He pictured her standing up on the platform, her brown eyes overflowing with silent tears, face expressionless. Then she turned, eyes meeting his. She smiled at him. He could hear someone screaming his name, but that didn’t matter anymore. I’m coming Carla. Then the blast hit him.

* * *  
Pain was wracking his body and Boone had to fight to stifle his groan. This was worse than any hangover he had ever experienced. His memories came flooding back, and he reached his hand up to where his skin felt sticky. There was some cloth wrapped tightly around his head, and his fingers came away tacky with drying blood. He did groan then.

“Figures.” At his voice, there was the sound of scrambling to his left, and suddenly dark blue hair and worried eyes filled his vision. 

“Boone! Christ you scared me. Arcade! Arcade he’s awake!” Six’s yelling set his teeth on edge, grating on the pain in his head as well.

“Quieter please.” At this Six settled back onto the balls of her feet, giving him an apologetic smile.

“Sorry, I was really worried.” Boone moved to sit up, and Six nearly tripped in her haste to help him. A pained breath left him, but between the two of them he was sitting upright. He moved to rub his eyes but Six knocked his hand away. His protest died in his throat when she gripped his chin and stared into him, concern etched on every feature of her.

“Did you say ‘figures’?” Boone stared back into her eyes, watching slowly as what could only be pity formed there. He didn’t need that from her. He jerked his chin from her grasp as Arcade found his way to them.

“I’ll take watch for a bit.” Six stalked away from them, hands clenched at her side. 

When Arcade knelt in front of him and began prodding at the bandage, Boone noticed the bruising around his right eye.

“What happened there?” Arcade snorted, unpacking a fresh bandage as he worked.

“Six happened. I dragged her out and left you standing there, then I wouldn’t let go so she could run back and drag you out too. She punched me and then tried to run back. The mine went off just as your brain kicked in and you started moving.” Boone winced as the bandage pulled a bit, and Arcade shocked him by mumbling something that sounded suspiciously like “sorry”. 

“She was really upset then.”   
“Upset is an understatement Boone. She made me use my medical pack to support your head even though you probably contaminated it. Head wounds bleed a lot you know.”

“Yeah.” Arcade finished with changing the bandage, explaining Boone had a decent concussion, then he moved back toward Six, stopping to say something he couldn’t make out. Six nodded and then sat down across from Boone, taking out one of the books she carried. After a while of awkward silence, Boone cleared his throat.

“What are you reading?”

“A pre-war book Doc Mitchell let me borrow.” Another few seconds passed, Boone staring at Six, trying to figure out something to soothe tension between the two of them, to get back to the easy teasing they shared. She studiously ignored him. 

“What’s it about?”

“Poetry.”

“Anything good?” Six stared at him hard, eyebrows furrowed in a way he always found amusing when it was directed at Arcade. Being on the receiving end of that look wasn’t funny at all. After a moment, Six flipped back toward the beginning of the book. After clearing her throat, she began to read.

“Out of the night that covers me,  
Black as the pit from pole to pole,  
I thank whatever gods may be,  
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance,   
I have not winced nor cried aloud,  
Under the bludgeonings of chance,  
My head is bloody, but unbowed.” Boone chuckled a bit at this part, earning another dark look from Six. He ducked his head and she continued.

“Beyond this place of wrath and tears,  
Looms but the horror of the shade,  
And yet the menace of the years,  
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how straight the gate,   
How charged the punishments the scroll,   
I am the master of my fate,   
I am the captain of my soul.” Another chuckle spilled from Boone, the closest he had been to a laugh in ages. The twisted humor of everything was simply too much to process at this point. 

Six snapped the book shut, walking off to swap watch shifts with Arcade, and leaving him to his thoughts. When he decided to follow Six, he knew in his gut that he would meet the end of his days with her. Knew that he needed to go with her to find that end. Apparently whatever kept track of deeds in the world was not done toying with him, and he found himself disappointed.   
His head was throbbing again, Arcade was thankfully quiet. When Boone closed his eyes, he dreamed of running his fingers through blonde hair, but just at the edges of his dream, he could hear Six’s voice, singing softly. 

* * *   
Anger is a strange thing. It grips tightly to one and squeezes everything else out, sometimes making it painful even to breathe.. As Six sat fuming, all she could think about was walking back to Boone and smacking him squarely across the face, with such force his stupid beret went flying. That probably wouldn’t be good someone with a concussion though. She focused back on the horizon, scanning, watching for movement and listening for insects to suddenly go quiet. 

“Figures.” That was his first word when he woke. He was annoyed by her being there for him? For worrying? He had even laughed at the poem she read, the first poem she read after waking up in Goodsprings. It had struck a chord with her then, and stuck with her. 

Boone’s chuckle echoed in her ears. She usually enjoyed hearing it, making jokes and bets just to draw it out from him. Now the sound of it left her cheeks burning. Anger also has a way of being the emotion one falls behind when the true emotion is too painful to acknowledge. Six sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose and fighting the urge to squeeze her eyes shut. 

Embarrassment and a small amount of hurt coiled tightly in her chest, buried beneath the anger roiling over the top of these more fragile emotions. She worried at the hole in the side of her boot, slowly forcing a veneer of calm over herself. The sun slowly began its ascent, and as she watched, Boone walked away from their campsite. 

They were not far from the Legion camp she and Boone had cleared, and he made his way to the billboard they had passed. As she watched, he climbed up the side, stalling slightly once or twice. Six stood up, preparing to call out, but then she paused. From here she couldn’t make out what he was doing, but within a few minutes he had climbed back down and was headed back toward her. 

He caught her eye for a moment, nodding once. Six dropped her gaze quickly, maintaining watch as Arcade and Boone broke down camp. They set off back toward Goodsprings, Six leading in silence for the first time. As they passed by the weathered billboard, Six looked up. Someone a while ago had written out “Let it all end.” Boone’s shaky scrawl was beneath it. “Quit your whining.”


	7. Mosaics

Goodsprings was a boring place. Boone paced back and forth on the top of the General store, scanning around the town, his eyes always returning to the north. It had a been several days since Six left with Veronica. The brown-haired woman refused to answer any of his questions about where they were going or why he couldn't come along. He had argued against Six going, requested she let him track the two of them from a distance. She had refused, and things got heated between the two of them.  

 

_Six flushes when she's mad. Instead of the smooth pink that begins at her throat and slowly paints her skin when she is embarrassed, anger colors two patchy red spots on her cheeks. Her eyes narrowed at him as he stepped in front of her._

_"You can't tell me what to do Boone. Get out of my way."_

_"I'm not trying to tell you what to do. Veronica won't even tell us where you are going or what you two will be doing. Has she told you what you are doing yet?" Worry was gnawing at him, causing him to push harder than he should._

_"_ _I have been with Veronica longer than you or Arcade. At the mention of his name and the way Six's eyes fixed on him, Arcade put his hands up in defeat and walked off, leaving Boone on his own. Traitor._

_"_ _Just give us an idea as to where you are going and when you should be back, that way we know if we should w- if you need help."_

_"_ _I will be fine and. I'll be back with Veronica and more caps. Then we move onto New Vegas."_

_"_ _I still don't like-" Six cut him off, stalking so close to him that he nearly took a step back. He forced himself to stand his ground, even though the anger pulsing off her was almost palpable._

_"_ _You don't have to like it. Go back to Novac if you don't like it." Boone scoffed and walked away from her then, shouldering his rifle and slamming the door out of the saloon's back room. Everyone at the bar suddenly found the ceiling interesting. He stomped across the floor, pushing past Sunny and her dog, slamming the exterior door for good measure. He made it to the edge of town before his temper had started to ebb, and his feet slowed. Novac wasn't far, he could force himself back there. Â He could slide right back into his odd existence that wasn't really living at all._

_Boone took a step away from Goodsprings, then another, settling into a rhythm. He thought back to Novac, back to the hotel, and his heart beat fast. Whiskey bottles and food containers would probably still be there, cluttering the room like the memories cluttered his mind. Boone swallowed hard. Back in that room he would have new memories to keep him company. Keeping score of kills, ridiculous bets, and arguing with Arcade. The woman who sang better than the long dead ghosts on the radio. The steps that had been carrying him steadily away faltered._

_He thought back to Six reading the poem, the shame he had felt when he realized it was a reminder about staying strong to the end. The message on the billboard that he had first felt a connection with. His response that was an admonishment to himself and the author._

_"_ _Quit your whining." He had muttered to himself. Turning back around, he headed toward the saloon. By the time he got back in, Six was gone. Heading back outside, Boone climbed to the roof, sitting on the edge. Normally being up high calmed his mind, allowed him to mull over his thoughts and think things through. This time his mind refused to clear._

Sitting up on the saloon now, his mind was still clouding over with worry, and guilt. It had been six days and he had thought of little else than Six and her safety, remembering Carla in the evening suddenly. Realizing someone else was occupying his thoughts stung like a snap to the skin. He would quickly recall her hands, smooth and soft, free of any marks, the warmth of her fingers entwined with his own. As he looked out toward the north again, he wondered what Six's hand would feel like in his.

 

Below, Arcade was doing a poor job of sneaking over to the general store, which had been closed for over an hour. He had been over there yesterday evening as well. A few hours later, people were beginning to file out of the saloon and stumble toward their homes. Arcade did his own stumbling afterward. Another hour passed, and Boone settled onto the thin blanket he had set up on the roof, resigning himself to continue waiting.

 

 

                                                   * * *

While Six was gone, Boone chose a house that had been used by an old Securitron to sleep in during the day. The old rhythm of being awake at night and sleeping during the sun was up settled quickly. He was asleep for what felt like a few minutes when he heard the door being flung open and feet pounding on the weathered floorboards. Acting on instinct, Boone rolled out of the sleep sack and pulled his gun up just as Arcade came skidding into to his room.

 

"Boone she- aaahh, put that thing down you idiot!" Boone lowered the barrel as he woke up fully, rubbing his eyes as he stood. Arcade relaxed visibly and then launched back into what he had been saying.

 

"Six is back." At that he was pulling on a shirt over his head as he moved toward the door, Arcade on his heels. He was heading toward the shack Six had chosen for herself when he saw Doc Mitchell entering it in a hurry, doctor bag in hand. The world slowed a bit, and he could hear Arcade saying something behind him, but was unable to make it out. He broke out into a run.

 

The scene he came upon as he slammed the door open was dizzying in its confusion. A ghoul he had never seen before was standing a few feet in front of him. Leathery arms stretched out, trying to stop him from entering the main kitchen area. Boone shoved the ghoul aside with enough force he was knocked to the floor and continued into the kitchen.

 

A strange mix of relief and shame at being relieved hit him as he realized it was Veronica laying on the kitchen table instead of who he expected. Beside the table Six was clutching the woman's hand, whispering words of encouragement as Doc Mitchell worked. Bloody strips of makeshift bandages were being pulled off Veronica's abdomen as she moaned in pain. Arcade pushed past Boone, rolling up his sleeves. The two doctors began using words he didn't understand at each other, then Arcade turned to Six.

 

"I know it's hard, but I need you to let go and let us work. Go outside for a bit and I'll come get you when she's all patched up." Six lingered for a moment, then squeezed Veronica's hand tightly once before setting it down on the table and turning away. Boone wasn't sure she had seen him at first, but then she dropped her head and charged past him and through the door.

"Still pissed I see." He muttered quietly before following Six outside. Six was stalking off toward the direction of the saloon, and Boone had to jog to catch up with her. The air to the left seemed to shimmer a bit, and he reminded himself to get some water after talking to her.

 

"Not now Boone."

 

"Six, I need to talk to you." Six kept walking, and just as he reached out to grab her arm, the air that had been shimmering suddenly solidified into a very large, very blue super mutant. Boone was rarely caught off guard, and his momentary confusion allowed the great creature to slide between him and Six. He was reaching for his gun just as blue hands gripped the handle of a massive sword. In the next blink, Six was back in front of him, hands up between him and the mutant. She looked at the two of them, eyes wide with worry.

 

"You guys, come on. Shit, introductions. Boone, this is Lily, Lily this is Boone. I think you saw Raul, but I'll formally introduce you guys in a bit. Lily, Boone is my friend." Shame burned low inside him at her calling him a friend. He had not been a very good one yet. He made a silent vow to do better. In front of him the super mutant slowly dropped her hands.

 

"If you say so dearie but Leo doesn't like him." Boone's eyes darted around looking for another mutant, but Six caught his eye and shook her head. She would explain later then. Lily activated a device Boone now recognized as a stealth boy and disappeared mostly from view. Boone tracked her shimmer over to the side of Six's door. He knew what to look for now. The two of them walked in silence for a few minutes until Boone figured they had enough privacy and turned to face her.

 

Boone looked over Six, taking her in. Not counting the first time he saw her in Novac, it was the worst shape he had ever seen her in. Several bruises marked the skin he could see, and tousled hair was escaping the ponytail she wore. One of her eyes were black and there was a trail of blood from her nose that had been poorly wiped away. Her grey eyes were dull and tired. A lump formed in his throat that he had to swallow around before speaking.

 

"You can tell me what happened later. You ok Six?" At his words, her lip trembled and tears formed in her eyes. He watched as she pinched the bridge of her nose tightly, and a few tears rolled out. Six turned her back on him suddenly, falling into a sitting position on the packed dirt. It took him a few moments of watching the jerking of her shoulders for him to realize she was silently sobbing into her hand.

 

Boone was uncertain what to do for a moment, trying to think of what would be acceptable for their friendship. He had never been good with words, tripping over his own tongue. He always let his actions speak for him instead. Mimicking Six, he dropped behind her, and after another second of feeling awkward, wrapped one arm around her. He pulled her tightly to his chest, and held her as she cried.

 

                                    * * *

"You ok Six?" She had been ready to fight with him, wanted him to say something stupid so she could take out her anger on him. Anger that was mostly directed at herself. Instead he looked concerned and asked her if she was alright, and suddenly tears were forming in her eyes. Sobs tried to escape out of her, so she clamped her hands over her mouth to stifle them as she turned away.

Six dropped to a sitting position, trying her hardest not to let her cries be heard as she struggled against the need to gasp for air. Internally she chanted _go away_ over and over again. Movement behind her went ignored until an arm wrapped around her front, startling her into taking a ragged breath. She became aware of the fact that it was Boone's arm just as he crushed her to his chest. He was... hugging her? This broke Six's control and her cries spilled out.

 

Once the dam broke it was over within a few minutes, her body feeling a bit lighter after. Boone's chest was warm against her back, and Six fought the urge to lean further into him. Heat flushed her at that thought, and she reminded herself to just enjoy the comfort he was giving her. As if sensing her calm, Boone shifted slightly away, and then cleared his throat uncomfortably.

 

Six shot up into a standing position, dusting the sand from her jeans. Embarrassment chased away the other emotions, and her face burned as she avoided his eyes.

 

"Maybe we can just keep this between us? Or better yet forget it even happened." There was a derisive snort from Boone, and he stood up himself.

 

"Fine by me."

 

"Good. I don't think it will help anyone knowing I crumbled under the pressure. Even for a minute. I- I'm going to check on Veronica, but we'll talk in a bit?"

 

"Yeah. Looking forward to hearing how you got a super mutant as a personal bodyguard." Six laughed as she moved away, leaving Boone to himself. After a few steps she turned to her left.

 

"You can come out now Lily." The distinct sound of a stealth boy deactivating heralded the nightkin's appearance.

 

"Are you done snooping?"

 

"For now." The nightkin turned back, and Six followed her gaze to Boone's retreating form.

 

"Maybe he's not so bad." With that Lily activated her stealth boy again and disappeared from view. Six smiled to herself as she entered her house.

 

                           * * *

Veronica had been moved from her kitchen table to the spare room. Six turned her Pip-boy on long enough to steal a glance at her friend in her drug-induced sleep before turning it off. She didn't want to chance waking her, and the green light cast a pallor on Veronica's skin that made Six feel uneasy. She picked up the scribe's robes and hood to wash them leaving the door open as she left the room.

 

The sound of Arcade scrubbing the kitchen table reached her ears. The amount of blood that was in there would have terrified her if she had not already checked on Veronica. Doc Mitchell was nowhere to be seen. Setting the clothes down on a small part of the counter that wasn't covered in blood, Six rolled up her sleeves and began scrubbing with him.

 

"You don't have to clean this Arcade." He paused to push his glasses up his nose and stare at her.

 

"You don't have to clean it up by yourself either. She's going to be okay Six. I guarantee it." Arcade gave her what Six assumed to be his most comforting smile and they continued their work. After an hour the kitchen was cleaner than it had probably ever been and Six had just enough Abraxo cleaner left to wash Veronica's clothes. Arcade left after the robes were hung up to dry. Six sat in the doorway of the spare room, pinching the bridge of her nose. The sound of Veronica's even breathing comforted her, so different from the pained gasps she had made in the arms of Lily on their hurried run back to Goodsprings.

 

Six cursed quietly to herself, remembering the ambush the super mutants and nightkin had sprang on them, taking all of them by surprise. One moment they were rushing to set up camp in the fading light and then the next ED-E's battle music was blaring amidst the roar of angry mutants leaping into view. A nightkin had appeared in from of her swinging a bumper sword and for a brief moment, all Six could do was stare in horror, hearing a disdainful "you need to pay attention to your surroundings" in her mind. Just as the acceptance that she was going to die settled over her, something had knocked into her, tossing her to the ground.

 

The sound of Veronica's pained scream echoed again in Six's mind, even as she was brought back to the present at the sound of stirring on the bed. A low groan filled the room, and Six scrambled up to her friend's side.

 

"Hey, hey, don't try to sit up. Arcade will kill me if I let you pull your stitches." Veronica moaned again. trying to sit up, and Six compromised by shoving a few pillows behind her.

 

"Here, sip this, Arcade left some Med-X here in case you woke up."

 

Veronica's pained groans became panicked, and she knocked the bottle of purified water Six was trying to get her to drink to the floor. Deft fingers scrabbled at the bandages on her abdomen, pulling. Six pinned her hands down with one arm while she grabbed the Med-X from the floor. Pulling the cap off the syringe with her teeth, she slid the needle into Veronica's thigh swiftly. As the plunger forced the drugs into her body, Veronica relaxed, her fingers barely catching on Six's.

 

"Christine?" Veronica's voice was so quiet at first Six thought she had imagined it. She gave her fingers a gentle squeeze and shook her head even though Veronica wouldn't be able to see her in the dark.

 

"Just Six, but I'm here Veronica. I will be until you wake up for real." Veronica drifted away, leaving Six alone with her thoughts again. Everyone she knew had lost something irreplaceable to the Mojave, and the knowledge brought a bitter taste to her tongue. She vowed to make sure it wouldn't happen to any of them again, not while she was here. And it would be the last time one of her companions got hurt defending her. Six would do better, be better, no matter the cost.

 

* * *

It was another two days before Arcade let Veronica get up and gingerly walk around. Boone waited for them to emerge, correctly guessing Six wouldn't leave her house until the woman was in a better state of health. When Six opened the door and lead a shuffling Veronica out, several residents of Goodsprings and Six's companions were waiting outside. There was a quiet murmur of relieved comments and get well wishes until Trudy announced there would be a round of drinks at the bar on her. After that it was considerably louder.

 

Boone considered following them as they were ushered into the saloon, but changed his mind and went around to the back where he knew Sunny and Easy Pete had built up a bonfire. A short while later Arcade found them, carrying several Sunset Sarsaparillas. He dropped one into Boone's lap as he passed. It was still cold, and Boone held it to his forehead for a moment, relishing the feeling against his skin.

 

Six joined them later, sitting down with a sigh between Boone and Arcade. She looked tired, circles under her eyes and hair unkempt. Boone slid off the sunglasses he bought from Chet, tucking them into the front of his shirt.

 

"Veronica is currently being treated to Doc Mitchell's stories of vault living while propped up in a stuffed chair Trudy dragged out for her." Her voice sounded tired too, and Boone frowned. He was used to Six being upbeat, a source of energy for those around her. This was a change that set his teeth on edge. Hopefully she would get some rest now that Veronica was on the mend and be back to her usual demeanor.

 

Boone cracked open his Sarsaparilla, slightly startled to see a faint blue glow in his hand. A blue star bottle cap. He had never found one before, had never even known anyone who had. He had written them off as a myth years ago. And yet there it was, sitting in his palm, a rare treasure in the desert. Boone closed his fingers over it, then held his arm out toward Six. She stared at him in confusion, not understanding.

 

"Here. Open your hand."

 

"You're not going to drop gecko shit into my palm for leaving you behind, are you?" There it was, a small shimmer of Six underneath the cloud of sadness hanging over her. Boone nudged her arm with his closed fist, impatient.

 

"Just take it." Curiosity warred with wariness in her eyes, the former winning out finally as she opened her hand. Boone dropped the cap into her palm, feeling a rather smug sort of satisfaction as her eyes widened, reflecting the firelight.

 

"Boone, why would you give me this? These are priceless." Her words drew the attention of the others, and Boone was pretty sure Arcade's eyebrow was currently raising his hairline. Embarrassment now took hold of him, along with another churning sensation in his gut he had not felt in a long time. Boone ducked his head, trying hard to not stumble over his words.

 

"They're supposed to be lucky. I think you could use it more than me." Six smiled at him, and when she whispered her thanks, her voice cracked a bit at the end. Boone turned away from the tears that were forming in her eyes, using the excuse of taking a drink to cover the awkwardness of his movements. Six cleared her throat, looking around as if she suddenly remembered they had an audience.

 

"I'm probably going to need it. We'll be headed back to New Vegas tomorrow. If you want to come, that is." Boone pretended he had to consider it for a moment, though his decision had been made even before Six had finished speaking.

 

"Fine by me Six. I've got your back." The words felt a little heavier with meaning as they tumbled from his lips. Ducking his head again, Boone meticulously polished the exterior of his rifle in the firelight as Arcade and Sunny engaged Six in conversation. She moved her arms around animatedly as she spoke, and Boone fought the urge to smile as he watched her from the corner of his eye.

Six stood after two Sarsaparillas and slowly made her way away from the campfire after bidding everyone goodnight. Boone watched as she made to the saloon, then changed direction after a moment's hesitation. He stood up, holstering his rifle as he followed Six's path. Her pace increased as she started up a hill toward a water tower, disappearing from his view over the rise.

 

When Boone made it up the hill himself, he realized he was standing at the opening of a cemetery. Six stood facing away from him, staring at a hole in the ground. The hairs on his arm stood up as he realized it was meant to be a grave. She didn't look up as Boone fell in place beside her. Following her gaze, he saw a cowboy hat laying in the hole. Long-dried blood stained ugly brown patches in the grey leather. They stood in silence for a while, until Six spoke in hushed tones.

 

"I avoided coming here. This is where it happened." Six's face remained blank as she spoke, but her voice cracked. Boone was confused, but listened without interruption.

 

"They knocked me unconscious, took the chip, and then Suit waited for me to wake up so he could have an audience for his ego. He had a speech that had obviously been planned out. I tried so hard to stand up, I kept telling myself I was not going to die on my knees." Six pointed at the grave, her grave, with fingers mimicking a gun.

 

"'Truth is, the game was rigged from the start.' Bang. And then the next thing I know, I'm waking up in Doc Mitchell's house, in so much pain. I had no idea where I was. And then I realized I didn't know who I was." She knelt down, picking up a cigarette butt off the ground with a disgusted look on her face before pocketing it.

 

"It has been a clusterfuck ever since I woke up. When I get to Vegas, I want Benny to know the terror I felt. No speeches, just fear. Fear and pain." Standing up, Six stared into Boone. He knew he should say something, do something. His mind scrambled about.

 

"We'll fix it Six." She scoffed and internally he groaned. This is why he preferred to keep his mouth shut.

 

"Fix it? Even if I figure out who I was, I don't think I'll be whole again. Not the way I should be. It's strange. I know something is gone, missing, but I don't know what it is. I may never know." She made to turn away, and Boone reached out, gripping her hand tightly without thinking. Her skin was calloused, and rough with scar tissue, but Boone still had to fight the urge to lace their fingers together. His mouth went dry as Six looked from their joined hands up to his face, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

 

"That wasn't the best word. We'll make it right." Six shuffled slightly closer, and his heart raced, spurred on by the current emanating from where their skin touched. For a moment, Boone thought she was going to stretch up and kiss him. Carla didn't have to stretch to kiss him. Suddenly guilt crashed over the desire in his core, and he let go of Six's hand. Disappointment fluttered across her face, and she turned away, heading down the hill without looking back.

 

He watched her go silently for a moment, then pressed his fingertips to his lips. Six's scent clung there. His body wanted to chase her down and crush his mouth to hers. Instead he watched until the shadows swallowed her form. _It's better this way_ , his mind chanted. He only brought misery to those around him.

 

Six's hat was still laying in the grave. It should have blown away a long time ago. He picked it up, wincing when he realized the brim had a bullet hole in the back of it. Anger at the man in the suit welled up in him. _We'll make it right._

 "Promise." His whisper was carried away in the wind that was picking up, and the hat nearly blew out of his hand. He clutched it tightly, his hesitance to let it go when Six had no interest in it baffling him. Putting on his sunglasses, Boone headed back to his shack. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Working two retail jobs during holiday season is bullshit, in case anyone was wondering. We're headed to Vegas baby, and things are stirring between these two knuckleheads!


	8. Ring-A-Ding-Ding Baby

After breakfast with Doc Mitchell, Six left Goodsprings behind yet again. Veronica had to stay behind with her injuries healing, and Arcade offered to stay with her. She hugged them both before departing. Raul, Lily, ED-E and Boone all trailed behind her. She had debated leaving Lily and Raul so they could rest, but the looks some of the Goodsprings settlers gave them changed her mind. Six set a brisk pace, fueled by worry at confronting Suit and a desire to be done with this entire mess. _After this I am getting Primm a sheriff and then figuring out who the hell I am. Just a while longer._

 

The morning began with some quiet conversation, but it was short-lived as she set a grueling pace. By the time the sun was setting on their first day of travel, everyone except Lily was breathing hard and grumpy. Boone looked tired as he moved to sentry position, so Six moved to head him off.

“I’ll take first watch if you want to rest for a while. It’s kind of my fault we’re all exhausted.” Boone shook his head at her as he removed his sunglasses. 

“Ready to get to Vegas and handle this?”

“Yeah, it’s been hanging over me long enough. And while these caps don’t weigh much, they sure are awkward to carry so I’m looking forward to offloading them.” Six dropped her packs in the dirt, the distinct sound of caps clinking together filling the air. Sweat and dirt clung to her skin, the day’s travel already making her miss the cold water she had scrubbed her skin with before leaving this morning. Nothing stayed clean long in this desert. Boone began moving away from her again, intent on taking the first watch. Time for the big guns then.

“Alright, I’ll go fix something to eat.” Boone sighed loudly, then turned around, heading back to the campfire Raul had set up. Six chuckled quietly under her breath, climbing up a small boulder to settle in for watch. ED-E came to hover by her after a while, and Six began to wonder if she could alter his programming to enable a sentry mode. She doubted Boone would accept an eyebot as the sole guard, but the idea of a full night’s sleep while traveling was so tempting.

“I’m an hour into watch and already thinking about sleep, for fuck’s sake.” ED-E beeped quietly, and she reached out absent-mindedly, patting his metal hull. Slow music like a lullaby began to play from his speaker, and Six shoved him away gently, laughing.

“You little shit. Play that when I can sleep.” Raul walked over to them from the fire, the smell of roasted brahmin beating him to her. Six inhaled deeply, her mouth watering. Chunks of meat were swimming in a thin broth, accompanied by some small carrots. Murmuring her thanks, Six devoured the food quickly. Raul stayed standing below her, looking out at the landscape.

“Hey Raul.”

“Yeah Boss.”

“Does it get any better? This shithole of a desert I mean.” The ghoul was quiet for a moment, fingers rasping across leathery skin as he rubbed his chin.

“No, not really. But when you find the right people, it becomes worth it.” Six mulled his words over, chewing on her lip. Did she have people before who she cared for? Who cared for her? Raul turned back to the campfire.

“Boone fell asleep already, so I can take watch after you Boss.”

“Thank you. And Raul? Call me Six please.” Raul returned to the campfire, and Six stood up, shaking off the tiredness that was trying to settle into her bones. The hours dragged on slowly. It was a little before dawn when movement stirred at the camp fire. She could make out the shape of Boone as he took a moment to stretch before suddenly snapping to attention. He walked over to her, a scowl on his face.

“You are still on watch? It’s been hours.”

“Everyone needed the sleep.”

“I’ve got it from here.”

“Really, I’ll be fine-” Boone silenced her with a glare, and Six climbed down stiffly.

“My bedroll is still over there. I know you let Raul use yours.” It was a simple thing really, but the idea of using Boone’s bedroll caused a pulse of heat low in her belly. He’s not even in it, get a grip Six. She slid into the thin fabric, pillowing her head on her arm. The heat from Boone’s body lingered still, and Six felt a shiver down her spine at the thought of him laying beside her, close enough to touch. Her mind stretched back to Goodsprings, to the memory of her looking up at Boone, wanting to close that gap between them. ED-E beeped quietly before settling down close to her head, startling Six out of her musings. _I need to get laid apparently._ Her eyelids slowly lost the battle against their own heaviness and sleep claimed her.

Over the next few days, Boone took the first watch every evening, insisting Six take the final watch. They kept up their grueling pace, and in record time the reinforced walls of Vegas were rising in front of them. The sun was beginning to set, it’s rays reflecting off the metal signs covering the exterior.

“It looks like the city is washed in blood.” Her voice was quiet, the words meant for her to hear alone, but Boone’s voice sounded just behind her.

“It is.” They decided to have Raul and Lily wait outside the city with ED-E until the business with Suit was taken care of. Six lead the way through the gate to Freeside, Boone right on her heels. Excitement threaded through her as she imagined the look on Suit’s face when she tracked him down. Realization dawning, and then fear when he realized she was here for vengeance. She turned and smiled brightly at Boone, and he raised his eyebrow slightly in question.

They were almost past the Old Mormon Fort when one of the King gang members ran up to her. Boone moved up to stand beside her, making his presence known to the young man who suddenly seemed slightly nervous.

“You’re Six, right? The King has requested you join him for dinner this evening. He has a job offer for you.” Six rolled her eyes, crossing her arms as she surveyed the kid.

“As long as it’s just a job offer this time.”

“I just deliver the messages ma’am.”

“Fine, fine, we’ll at least get a free meal out of it.”

“The invitation was for you, Miss.”

“Boone is coming with me, or I’m not going, right Boone?”

“Right.” Six glowered at the kid, almost feeling bad as he squirmed in front of them. After a moment, the kid sighed in defeat.

“I’m sure that will be fine then, ma’am.” The two of them made their way to the to the King’s gaudy base of operations. Boone looked at her curiously as they walked.

“What was that about back there? You said ‘this time’.”

“The first time we were here the King was trying really hard to get me into bed with him. It was embarrassing almost. He has all those groupies in there, so I’m not sure why he even bothered.” Boone made an odd grunting noise at that. Six was going to ask about it but then the kid was throwing open the door for them. She stepped through, and after a moment’s hesitation, Boone followed as well.

                                                                                                * * *

Boone had to admit, the meal the King provided was pretty damn good. It was brahmin steak, not tough or charred from being cooked over a campfire. It had been perfectly seared, the vegetables were steamed well, the salad crisp. He was even enjoying himself for the first twenty minutes or so, working his way through the first helping and on to his second. His good mood soured instantly the moment the King set his cutlery down, leaning toward Six.

The man’s voice lowered, and he even reached out one of his fingers to stroke down Six’s forearm where her bare skin was exposed. Six moved away, leaning toward Boone slightly. This made him feel better at least. As the meal was finished and the plates cleared, the King had some beer and whiskey brought to the table. Boone shook his head at the tumbler he was offered, but Six surprised him by knocking back the beer quickly and then beginning whiskey shots. The King matched her shot for shot.

Boone stared at the roughhewn wood of the table, his food sitting heavy in his stomach now. He was suddenly wishing they were back on the road, running an errand for Doc Mitchell or something as silly. Six’s voice startled him, and he looked to his right to see her laughing heartily, leaning toward the King, her fingers resting lightly on the top of his hand. She had the pink blush to her cheeks he was used to seeing when she spoke to him. He pushed away from the table, standing up quickly.

“I think I’ll turn in for the night. I’m sure I can get a room at the Atomic Wrangler.” Six’s eyes were wide in confusion, and she drew her hand back. The King spoke directly to Boone for the first time, his voice in a ridiculous drawl.

“Nonsense, there are plenty of rooms for you to use here. Tony!” The King snapped his fingers and the boy who had fetched them earlier came running through the doors.

“Yes King?”

“Show this fine gentleman to his room. It’s right next to the one we had set up for Six here.” Boone thought about it for a moment. He really didn’t want to stay here, and from the looks of things, he definitely didn’t want to be here when the two of them finished their nightcap. Memories of Six helping him up the stairs in his drunken stupor, bleeding from an ambush he could have prevented rose up. He let a slight sigh escape, then nodded at Tony. He caught Six’s eye for a second, could see the questions there and a small amount of something else.

“Don’t forget about the job. It’s why we came here, right?” He snapped, his anger coloring his words. Then he turned and followed Tony up the stairs.

“You’re room is right through here Mister Boone, tha-” Boone slammed the door on whatever else the boy was going to say, dropping his duffle bag and rifle onto the small bed. He regretted passing on the whiskey now. An entire bottle of it sounded wonderful. He wasn’t stupid. He knew jealousy when it came knocking. He chuckled at himself. Guilt at wanting someone else swirled around him, but he couldn’t shake it.

Six was different. Completely lost to herself, yet determined to help everyone else find what they needed. She wasn’t like Carla, who complained loudly but made no moves to change things, make them better. He shook his head, chasing those thoughts away. He wouldn’t compare the two of them like that, it wasn’t fair to either one. Even so, his mind refused to let go of Six. The way she smiled as she sang. The look on her face when she was standing beside her open grave, when he was sure she was going to kiss him. The feel of her warm, calloused hand in his.

There was a sharp knock at his door, followed by a quiet “Boone?”. He froze, wanting so badly to throw open the door, grab ahold of Six and kiss her until the thought of anyone else was driven from her mind. He imagined the little gasp she would give, similar to the one she uttered when he scared her while firing at something she hadn’t seen yet. Boone turned toward the door, hand reaching out when the traitorous internal voice rang out. _You still haven’t gotten what’s coming to you._

He couldn’t do that to Six, so he stayed where he was, breathing as quietly as possible around his hammering heartbeat. After a moment he heard her retreat to her room, which was in fact on the other side of his. She seemed to be alone. That granted him a selfish moment of relief, and he laid down on the bed that was more of a cot. Sleep was weighing heavily on him until another knock reached his ears.

This one came from Six’s door, and thanks to the thin walls he could hear her quiet voice and the booming one of the King. He couldn’t make out what was being said, but the King didn’t stay long. Complete silence was a rare thing anymore, and Boone found himself enjoying it as sleep began creeping in on the edge of his mind. He was almost pulled under when he heard the sound of a giggle above him. Instantly he jerked up. Was that…Six? There was another giggle that faded into a breathy moan, and then the unmistakable sound of a bed creaking under the weight of two people.

Boone was shoving his feet into his boots faster than he thought possible, pausing just long enough to sling his rifle over his shoulder. The creaking sounds chased him down the hallway, groans following behind that. Turning past one of the numerous bathrooms, and heading down to one of the shabbier sections of the building, Boone found a door in the outside wall. The lock and chain looked to have been cut a while ago, and he wrenched it open gratefully. It was a rickety fire escape, leading up toward the roof. They were three floors up, so Boone tested his weight cautiously. Satisfied he wasn’t going to plummet to his death, he climbed the stairs.

The sounds of those moans echoed in his brain, and he climbed furiously. By the time he made it to the top, he had to bend over for a moment, breathing hard as the anger pushed through his lungs.

“I never would have taken you as someone scared of heights. Or did you just overeat at dinner and the stairs nearly did you in?” Boone shot upright, staring at Six where she was perched on the ledge of the roof. She had her plaid shirt and jeans laid out beside her, worn boots kicked off haphazardly nearby. A frayed grey tank top and black skin-tight shorts were all that covered her. It was the most undressed he had ever seen her, and she was smoothing something across her skin that left a glistening trail behind. It was an oil?

He imagined his own hands spreading across her skin, eliciting a moan from her. His cock twitched at that thought, even as he remembered why he had fled up here in the first place.

“You’re not, not down there with him?” He gestured lamely with his thumb down below. Thankfully the rutting sounds didn’t carry up here. Six snorted loudly, sliding her arms into her shirt sleeves.

“Me fuck that tool? Oh Boone, there isn’t enough room in that giant bed of his for anyone other than him and his ego.” Confusion settled in, and Six laughed at the look on his face. She began rubbing oil onto her legs, and Boone had to look away.

“You drank all that whiskey and then were flirting with him….”

“I was trying to get more caps out of the job he wanted us to take care of Boone. And that whiskey? I spit it into that beer bottle.” At this, she picked up said beer bottle and shook it, liquid sloshing about. Embarrassment burned in his cheeks.

“Did you think that was me going at it with him down there?” Boone was too ashamed to answer, so he kept quiet. Six slipped back into her jeans, and Boone felt safe enough to come sit beside her on the ledge now.

“I came to warn you something like that might happen. I thought you were asleep, so I just came up here like I did last time.” “He did this last time?”

“Christ, yes. And I thought my disinterest would make it so he didn’t try again but I think I laid it on a little thick at dinner.”

“Yeah.” His tone had more bitterness to it than he expected, and he peeked at her to see if she was upset. She was looking out over the city instead.

“Sorry anyway. We got the job, but I think it can wait until after we deal with Suit. I talked the King into way more caps than I thought possible, and I know he won’t go back on his word.” She turned and gave him a shy smile.

“And next time we can just stay at the Atomic Wrangler, or find a rooftop to climb.” Boone liked the second option better.

“No one wants to hear that asshole except him. I feel sorry for his employees. I bet those girls practice being that loud to feed his ego.” Six chuckled again, but Boone was still trying to shake the feelings from earlier. After a moment, he spoke.

“You know he’s trying to make you jealous.” Six turned to look at him, her grey eyes seeming so dark even as the light from the city cast a golden glow across her skin. She shimmied a little closer to him, placing her hand on his shoulder. Boone’s insides lurched for the second time that night, but this time it was a good ache, her hand warm through his thin shirt.

“In order for me to be jealous, he has to have something I want. And he doesn’t have what I want, Boone.” That look from Goodsprings was back in her eye, and that crisp, clean scent was overpowering. Boone’s lips ached, a powerful desire to close the gap between them sweeping through him. To feel his lips against hers. Down below gunfire opened up at the entrance to the Strip. Acting instinctively, Boone grabbed ahold of Six, pulling her backward and onto the flat rooftop.

When he looked over the ledge of the roof he could see the Securitrons dragging off the bodies of the idiots who had tried to rush the gate. Beside him Six let out a quiet laugh that didn’t sound the least bit happy. The oil from her skin was on his hand, and he held his palm out questioningly.

“What is in this? I can’t place the smell.”

“Creosote.”

“Those scraggly bushes in the desert?” Six shrugged one shoulder, sitting up and scooting away from Boone slightly.

“They are hardy little bastards, and even when it seems like there is no way they could survive, they last long enough to get a bit of water, and then they bloom. It seemed like a good goal to have in this miserable shithole of a desert.”

“So that’s how you manage to stay clean all the time. Arcade will be upset you didn’t share with him.” Silence fell between them, and Boone felt that moment of desire between them cooling with each passing second. It’s for the best. Standing, Six picked up the beer bottle she had been spitting her whiskey into. Suddenly her arm flung back and launched the container into the air. Boone shrugged his hunting rifle into his hands, firing. The bottle exploded, raining down small pieces of glass. Six smiled at him, the settled down onto the bedroll she had stretched out on the roof.

Her breathing slowed, and just when he thought she was asleep, Six suddenly turned to face him.

“What happened to your wife? And I mean, what really happened?” Boone’s breath caught, and his heartbeat was loud in his ears.

“She’s dead, and that’s all that matters.”

“OK.” It was so quiet, he almost missed it, and she turned back over. When he was sure she was asleep, he spoke again.

“I met her here on the Strip, while I was on leave, She said I looked lost. I guess I was. I don’t feel lost with you though, Six.” There was no answer, just her even, deep breathing. Settling his head against on one of the useless pipes, Boone closed his eyes, elbows resting on his knees. No, with Six he definitely knew he was heading where he was supposed to go.

                                                                                                      * * *

Six wasn’t sure what exactly sure what she was expecting when she showed the Securitron the passport for her and Boone. The gates simply opened, and the two of them strolled in.

“They don’t even throw confetti at people? Why does anyone come here again? Two thousand caps gone and I don’t even get music played at the entrance. Fuck me.” Boone chuckled behind her, reminding her how close his lips had gotten to hers last night. She shook her head slightly. There would be time to think of that later. Or at least there would be if things went according to plan. The two of them were making a bee line for the Tops when the familiar sound of squeaky wheels reached her ears.

“Victor! How have you been? Come to think of it, where have you been? What are you doing here?” The robot rolled to a stop in front of her, a serious tone of voice warring with the cheerful image on the screen. For the first time since she met him, Six had a feeling of unease around the Securitron.

“Howdy pardner! You have been lucky enough to receive a personal invitation to the Lucky 38! If you’ll follow me this way.” The Securitron turned and started wheeling away from Six and Boone. After a moment, she turned and continued toward the Tops instead.

“Six, your friend is coming back.”

“You must not have heard me, Mr. House himself has-”

“Mr. House himself can fuck off currently. I’ve got something to take care of.” Six left Victor spluttering as she and Boone reached the front door to the Tops. She grasped the handle to one of the doors, pausing just long enough to take a steadying breath. She looked up at Boone, and he gave her a quiet nod of approval.

“I’ve got your back. Now get in there and kick that asshole’s teeth in.” Six gave him one of the largest grins she could muster, then yanked the door open. As it shut behind her, she could see Boone giving her a thumbs up. His form moved away from the door, disappearing from her view. Six lingered by the doors, her palms sweaty and trembling. One of the Tops security guards noticed her after a few minutes and approached her.

“Hey! Welcome to the Tops baby! I can see you’re packing, so I’ll have to hang on to those things for you.” She and Boone had anticipated this, so Boone had taken her trusty 10mm with him. The security guard took the 9mm and machete, then patted her down swiftly. Six was escorted over toward the receiving desk. A man with warm brown eyes smiled at her, his hands fluffing up his dark hair as she approached.

“My my, look what we have here! I’m Swank baby, and I am here to make sure you have a swinging good time.”

“As long as that good time involves taking out the murderous snake you have as a boss.” Swank’s good-natured grin slipped, his mouth going slack around the edges. Six’s smile grew wider in contrast.

“I must have misheard what you just-” Six slammed Suit’s lighter and a few of his cigarette butts onto the top of the counter Swank was lounging behind.

“He left these by the grave he dumped me in and the lighter he left behind when he turned on Jessup and McMurphy in Boulder City. McMurphy didn’t make it.” Swank’s eyes narrowed at the names, and he drummed his fingers on the countertop.

“These are Benny’s alright. All that talk and he acted on it. Huh.” Six waited impatiently, the tension cooling in her chest. Fear snaked through her, and she reminded herself that she was not traveling alone in the desert while three men were lying in wait. This time she had her own trap planned. That thought steadied her, and the gaze she gave Swank was calm and collected.

A small key clattered onto the counter.

“If you tell anyone you got this from me, it will be the last thing you say, got it doll? You’ll find Benny in there.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder, then turned away from her. Six turned away after pocketing the lighter, moving further into the Tops. Her eyes swept around, looking for that obnoxious suit.

“I don’t care what she says or how good her charlies are, if you comp her anything else, I’m taking it out of your severance pay, ya dig?” Six paused mid-step, every muscle tensed. She knew that voice. _Maybe Kahns kill people without looking them in the face, but I ain’t a fink, dig?_ Her stomach churned for a moment, and her head ached behind her left eye. Suddenly she was moving again, toward that voice. She clenched her teeth against the bile, crossing the room rapidly for her short stride.

Suit’s back was toward her, in the middle of chastising one of the men standing around him. The man had his own personal guard. One of them inclined their head toward her, and Suit whipped around. His face went from confident to dumbfounded in the blink of an eye.

“What in the goddamn?” At his words, the men beside him drew their guns, training them on her. The two of them stared at each other as the guards exchanged apprehensive looks. Suit’s face slowly recomposed itself, forcing each feature back into a relaxed expression. Six wanted nothing more than to see that smug look off his face.

Six’s hand moved toward her pocket. One of the guards fired, their aim going wide and hitting the wall behind her. _Small caliber, silenced. Good to know._ Suit turned and glared at the man before turning back to her.

“That is definitely coming out of your pay Frank. Relax boys, this one ain’t a threat.” She whipped the lighter out of her pocket and flung it at him. He caught it against his chest, looking down in confusion for a moment.

“You dropped something in Boulder City.” A smirk pulled up the corner of his mouth.

“To think I deemed this flintbox my lucky charm. Oh the irony.”

“Jessup was rather specific about where he thought I should shove that.”

“That was just business. The Kahns are good for brute force, but finesse is something they lack. And finesse is exactly what I need. So where does this leave us Doll?”

“Do not call me Doll.” The words hissed out of her.

“So what should I call you then?” His words bounced around her mind, in the hollow places where she felt she should have the answer to that question. And that was his fault. Suit took a step back at the anger rolling off her, and his guards all stepped closer. She had to reign it back in, otherwise she was going to end up pumped full of bullets. And no one would be able to save her this time. Suit stepped closer, sizing her up.

“What’s your angle here?”

“I just want the chip. I have a delivery to finish.”

“This is all some work ethic run wild? Yeah, I’m not buying it sweetheart. Make sure to use something bigger than a 9mm boys. This one has a thick skull.” Suit motioned at the man with the happy trigger finger, Frank. Her chance was slipping. She was going to lose everything, her mind spinning for the correct words.

“The least you can do is answer some questions first! What do you have to lose?” Suit appeared to mull it over, turning the lighter over in his fingers. Six knew she had him then.

“Alright doll, I’ll bite. Check her again for weapons Frank. We’ll take the elevator up to my room for this little chat.” The man was brusque and invasive as he searched her again. Suit lead the way, leading to the elevator. The guard tried to follow them in, but was waved away.

“I’ll be back in just a minute. Don’t worry, I’ve got Maria.” Frank nodded and turned back, giving Six a small smile as the doors shut. It seemed almost pitying. Suit lounged against the wall of the elevator calmly as it lurched into motion. Six’s stomach went right along with it. She hoped the timing had gone right. Everything came down to the timing.

“You remember Maria, don’t you doll?” He slowly undid the buttons on his jacket, pulling it to the side. The ornate gun was shoved into the belt of his pants, polished nickel glaring even in the dim light. Six’s mouth went dry at the sight of it. She clenched her hands at her sides to keep them from shaking. A dark chuckle spilled out from the other side of the elevator.

“Yeah, I thought you might.” Six suddenly wanted out of the elevator, to reconsider her plan. Too much was riding on everything coming together perfectly. The elevator groaned to a stop, and Suit pulled Maria out of his belt, aiming it at her. She was out of time.

“Ladies first.” This portion of the Tops was better lit, with minimal amounts of decay. The pistol pushed against her back, urging her out of the elevator. Tears pricked at her eyes, and she blinked them away angrily. One step put her onto the carpet, plush still despite its age. Another step and the hallway seemed to gape wide, like a mouth out of some nightmare, prepared to swallow her whole.

“It was a mistake coming here alone Doll.” A quiet click reached her ears, followed by the sound of something heavy landing behind them.

“Who said anything about her being alone?” Boone’s voice was angry, cold, but it flooded her with warmth when she heard it.

“What in the-” Suit’s eyes were wide with fear when Six whirled around. It flooded her with satisfaction. Boone had his hunting rifle aimed right at the back of Suit’s head. His brows were pulled together in his fury, mouth set in the hardest line she had ever seen.

“You ok Six?” His eyes flashed to her for just a second before refocusing on Suit. Six yanked the gun from his hand, aiming it at him. Her hands were no longer shaking. The gun felt strangely cold in her grip.

“I do believe you were about to be a gentleman and lead me to your room.”

“Sure thing doll.” Suit leisurely strolled down the hallway, looking calm and composed again. They stopped in front of double doors, Six surprising him by stepping forward with the key from Swank. The doors swung open without a sound. For as flashy as the man was, his suite was surprisingly plain.

“Can I get you a drink Doll? I make a mean nuclear winter.”

“Fuck off you prick. I want the platinum chip. Where is it?” Suit shrugged, setting down the shaker he had moved to pick up. He gestured instead toward the door that most likely lead to the bedroom. Six left them to clear the area, wrenching the door open. Her heart was pounding in her throat as she moved back, giving Boone a thumbs up. He shoved Suit forward with the stock of his rifle, into the bedroom. He motioned toward the nightstand. She had just taken a step forward when Suit began yelling.

“Yes Man! Yes Man defend me!” The door to the bathroom burst open, and a Securitron with the most cheerful look on its face rolled in. It barreled into Six first, knocking her against the wall. She managed to keep the 9mm in her hand somehow. Suit dove behind the Securitron, and Boone fired in his direction. The Securitron blocked the bullets from finding their mark. It swung its arm wide, hitting Boone with such force he was lifted off his feet. Six heard his breath leave him in a huff as he slid down next to her. The Securitron raised its arm, aiming directly into Boone’s chest. He looked at Six and gave her a little chuckle. _No. NO._

“Stop! Stop it now!” The words ripped out of her, leaving a jagged feeling in her throat. To her amazement, the Securitron dropped its arm. She leaned toward Boone, but he pushed her toward where Suit had made his escape.

“Go, I’m ok, go.” His voice was raspy, but his grip on her shoulder was strong. He squeezed once, then pushed her again. Scrambling to her feet, Six bounded through the door. She hadn’t even cleared the bathroom Suit had fled into. Cursing her own stupidity, she plunged into the darkness beyond. There was a faint glow from some monitors, and her eyes blinked rapidly as she struggled to adjust. Another door to the side was partially open, hazy yellow light spilling into the room.

An obnoxious creak sounded as she pulled it open the rest of the way, looking down both sides. It looked to be a maintenance hallway, pipes running along the ceiling. She could hear metallic sounds around the corner, and the soft sound of someone cursing under their breath. She ran down as quietly as she could, pausing at the corner to peek around.

Six barely registered that abysmal checkered fabric before she had to yank her head back. A shotgun slug buried itself in the corner of the wall, right where her face had been. She hadn’t been able to grab her 10mm from Boone so she blindly returned fire with the gaudy gun in her hands. Luck was with her, and she heard the distinct cry of pain that let her know at least one of the bullets had met the mark.

Another quick look saw Suit clutching his bloody hand. At least two of his fingers were laying on the floor next to him, the shotgun as well. Six stalked around the corner, gun aimed toward his face. He chuckled when he saw her. Blood was staining his jacket. There was enough of it for her to know she hit something vital.

“Guess I should have cashed out earlier, right Doll?” The elevator he had been trying to flee to dinged open behind him. Six half expected to see Frank and the rest of the guards, but it was empty. Suit laughed harshly at the open doors.

“Figures.” Blood was pooling at the corner of his mouth. He pulled out a handkerchief of all things and wiped it away.

“Where’s the chip?” The man was staring at the scrap of fabric in his hands like he couldn’t believe it was all of that red was his. Six kicked his fancy shoes with her worn ones. Blood clung to the tip of her boot.

“Hey asshole, where is the chip?” “Just not the head Doll. I spent entirely too much time on the hair this morning. If I’m going to go, I want to look good, ya dig?” He wasn’t going to tell her where it was. Anger shook through her, her heartbeat crowding out all other sound. Suit looked up at her, a bloody smile on his face. He didn’t even have the decency to look scared.

The fight seemed to leak out of her suddenly, and she just wanted to be done here. Wanted to make sure Boone was safe back with that Securitron. Six closed her eyes and pulled the trigger on the gun that she hated, emptying the entire magazine. Slowly she became aware of her breath, loud and ragged in the otherwise quiet hallway. The gun was no longer cold in her hand, it just felt heavy now. It clattered to the floor. She looked down at what was left of the man who had killed her. His hair and the suit would be the only way anyone would recognize him now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Benny is taken care of. Now we will tackle House and the inner workings of New Vegas. And... Rose of Sharon Fucking Cassidy.


	9. Raising the Stakes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I struggled with writing this chapter, and it shows. After rewriting it several times, I had to just post it and move on. Sorry guys!

Boone had never climbed a ladder faster in his life. This one was securely fastened to the side of the building, but that knowledge did little to stop the dizzying sensation he got when he looked down into the courtyard. He was eight floors up, five to go. By the time he reached the roof, his muscles were burning. Running across the uneven surface, he found the rooftop access leading into the casino itself. As he remembered, the Chairmen had too much faith placed in the security provided by House. The door lock broke easily, and there was no one there to guard the entrance.

It was even easier from there to access the elevator shaft. He batted away the muscle fatigue from his mind as he put his boots on the first rung. Of course it was another ladder. As he climbed down, he heard the sound of the elevator moving toward him. It stopped too soon. 

Cursing under his breath, he pushed himself faster. Finally reaching the top of the elevator, Boone opened the hatch. He expected to see Six inside, looking up at him expectantly. The elevator was empty. He could hear voices though.

“It was a mistake coming here alone doll.” The smugness of that voice infuriated Boone, and he wasted no time in dropping down into the elevator. His finger pressed down just slightly on the trigger as he aimed at the man who had a gun to Six’s back. The two of them turned, Six flashing him a brilliant smile. Relief at seeing her unharmed warred with the clenching sensation he was having in his gut. 

Boone could practically see the thoughts running through the man’s mind, trying to figure out how to change the situation to his benefit. Six relaxed visibly, and began throwing snarky lines around. He wanted to urge her to stay alert, to be careful. The walk to the suite was a short one, and Six lead the way in like she owned the place. He refused to undermine her in front of the man who shot her, but her carelessness grated on his nerves. 

The bedroom was where the man lead them for the chip. Boone’s nerves were on high alert, his instincts screaming at him. Suddenly the man was yelling and Six was flying across the room into the wall. His shots would have hit their mark if not for the giant hunk of metal that came barreling in. He was the next to go flying. He saw stars for a moment, and an embarrassingly pathetic noise escaped his mouth. 

The Securitron was aiming the weapon in its arm directly at him. Time seemed to stretch and slow as he turned to face Six, and Boone suddenly noticed she was wearing the blue star bottle cap he had given her around her neck. It was tied on a piece of leather and looked in danger of coming loose. That wouldn’t do at all. He chuckled at that thought.

Six was turned away from him, yelling. His fingers had the urge to push her hair away from the side of her face. He knew she used it to hide the scarring, but Boone didn’t like the idea that she was hiding part of herself. Particularly not from him. This woman was going to be the death of him. Not today, but someday. He could feel it in his bones. At this thought, time snapped back into place.

Boone’s lungs ached as he forced the precious air he had coaxed back into them to form words. Go, go. Six bounded away after a moment of hesitation, leaving him with the Securitron. It was completely still, and for a moment he wondered if one of his bullets had shut it down. He stood up, retrieving his rifle from where it had landed, training it back on the robot. The sound of a gunshot snapped his mind back to the task at hand. The Securitron also turned slightly toward the sound. Three more gunshots. Shit.

“Don’t move.” Boone crept by the robot, which stood absolutely still again. He walked backwards into the bathroom Six had gone through, and further into a room that was completely black. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust, and then he could see the door. Clearing the hallway, Boone stepped out. He heard some quiet words to his right, and began heading that way. Years of training took over, his body moving efficiently out of habit. His movements didn’t falter as more shots rang out. His mind was another matter.

Let her be alive. Unharmed. Let that be her shooting. Please, please-

There was a clatter, and as he rounded the corner, he ran full tilt into Six. She had an almost vacant look to her eyes. Part of her shirt had blood spatter on the left side. Boone breathed a quiet sigh of relief. She was fine. Physically anyway. 

Slinging his rifle, Boone put his hands out slowly, taking hers. At his touch her eyes focused. 

“It’s done, I…” She tried to turn back down the hall, but Boone ushered her forward, back into the dark room. He fumbled for a moment, turning on the light to her Pip-Boy and casting it about for an actual switch. Light flooded the room, and Six blinked slowly as she cast her gaze about. 

“Well, we know where he got the shotgun.” The room they were standing had several dark terminals, and some supplies scattered about. A duffel bag had been dropped on the floor, contents spilling out. A bug out bag. The scum had been prepared at least. 

“I probably should have gotten some answers out of him first. Now how do I figure out what’s going on?” 

“I can help with that!” Both Boone and Six turned, him sighting on the Securitron and Six’s hand going to her empty holster. Without dropping his rifle barrel, Boone handed the 10mm back to her. The Securitron was in the exact same spot, but it was definitely speaking. Six gave him a questioning glance then lowered her gun. 

“The man in the suit stole a platinum chip. Do you know what it’s for?”

“Of course! Benny had me look at it a bunch of times!” Six holstered her gun, but kept her hand hovering nearby. 

“Come over here. Do you know anything about the courier Benny shot?” The robot rolled over to stand closer to them, it’s cheery face looming. An unpleasant shiver chased its way up his neck. He gripped the stock tighter to his shoulder.

“I knew she was carrying the platinum chip! And I knew exactly where Benny should wait for her! Benny had me up here so I could monitor Mr. House’s transmissions. They’re all encrypted of course, but I’m quite the decrpyter. Did you know there were seven couriers, but the rest were carrying junk! So I was able to help Benny set the hit up perfectly! I told him where to wait and everything!” Boone watched as all of the color drained out of Six’s face, and she swallowed thickly.   
“I-“ her voice cracked, and she had to clear her throat before trying again. 

“I’m the courier Benny shot.” The robot let out a metallic approximation of a laugh. 

“Hahaha. I know that’s not true because you still have a head.” Boone looked over at Six, who was extremely calm for someone discussing their own attempted murder. His own hands would be shaking in fury if not for the gun in his hands. 

“It’s true.” Six’s words were hoarse, and the robot’s voice seemed to drop a bit. 

“That’s really not funny, you getting shot in the head. I probably shouldn’t taken so much pride in how I set that up, huh? Now I feel really bad. If it will make you feel better, you can shoot me. I’ll just pop right into another one and wheel back up here, so you can do it over and over again!

Six looked taken aback for a moment, then strode over to the robot, glancing over the wires.

“Why are you so being so helpful?” Six’s question was muffled from where she stood behind the robot, one of the panels open on the back of it. 

“I was programmed to be helpful and answer any questions I was asked. No one even bothered to put restrictions on who I can answer questions for!”

“Where is the chip now?”

“Probably still on Benny. He was most likely hoping to get away in his escape elevator.” Six looked back toward the hallway, her eyes slightly wide. Boone didn’t want to leave her alone with the robot, but he could see the look of fear at going back to the body.

“I’ve got it.” 

“Are you sure Boone?”

“Yeah. I’m sure.” Hesitance and then gratitude chased their way across her features, and Six gave him a shaky smile. Boone pushed out the door and down the hallway. The body was there in front of the elevator. He checked the inside pocket of the jacket and found what could only be the Platinum Chip. It was so small, and bloody. Boone wiped it off on the inside of his pants, rolling the stained denim back down so Six wouldn’t see it. It sat in the palm of his hand, and he struggled with understanding what could be so damn important about it. 

When he dropped the now clean chip in Six’s hand she stared at it, then her hand closed around it so tightly it trembled. Boone placed his own over the top of hers, steadying her, even as the touch made him want to shake as well. After a second, she pushed the chip back into his hands.

“Hang onto it for me, just for a bit. Yes Man, I- I need a break for a minute. Will you be safe here for a little while? I’ll be back soon.” The robot was positive no one would bother him, as apparently the man in the Suit, Benny, had the entire floor to himself. They moved toward the elevator, Six locking the door behind them. Boone thought she was handling it well until the doors slid shut. 

Six sagged against the wall, hands pressed tight to her eyes. An awful sob escaped her, and she clamped her mouth shut hard enough he heard her teeth snap together. Boone was moving on instinct, clutching her to his chest the same way he had in Goodsprings. Six’s head tucked beneath his chin, and she leaned against him as he held her through the shaking. The elevator shuddered gently to a stop, with Six reaching out to press the button to keep the doors closed.

“I know I have to go out there and finish this. But this is the safest I have felt since I woke up in Goodsprings. I just need that to last a minute longer.” Boone tightened his arms around her just a bit at her words, his own mind spiraling.

She feels safe with me. 

A strange combination of pride and something else worked its way into his chest, warming him. The self-loathing returned soon after, souring the sensation. Carla had felt safe with him too. He had failed her and would fail Six as well. Boone gently removed his arms from around Six, who slowly turned to look at him. He couldn’t stop himself from tucking her hair back behind her ear, gently running his thumb across the scars there. 

He heard it as Six sucked in a sharp breath, her eyes wide as she stared up at him. His heart was thudding so loudly, and a knot quivered deep in his abdomen. As if his hand had a mind of his own, it traveled down, coming to rest on her chin. Gently, his thumb traced her bottom lip, once, then twice. He could feel her pulse in her throat, beating just as fast as his was currently. Her skin seemed electrified, tingling his fingers where he touched her.

The elevator doors opened and still Boone couldn’t take his eyes off her. Her lips parted gently, and he could see something warring on her face, brow furrowed slightly. She seemed to make up her mind suddenly, reaching up and gripping his hand tightly in hers. He thought she was going to force it away, but instead Six turned her lips into his palm, pressing a hard kiss there. 

It was Boone’s turn to gasp. Heat rushed through him, beginning where her soft lips were pressed to his skin and continuing up his arm. An ache welled up in him, and a small groan escaped even as he tried to stop it. Six arched an eyebrow as she gently let go of his hand, a wicked grin on her face. Boone’s breath was ragged, considering his next move. 

He should say something, but the fire raging in his brain was drowning out all thought. He wanted to slam Six up against the elevator wall, then temper that movement with agonizingly slow kisses. He would start at the hollow of her neck, where the cap he gave her currently rested. His lips would work their way up to that full bottom lip, and he would bite her gently, soothing the ache with his tongue before completely claiming her mouth. His fingers would gently trail up her arms, her legs locked around his waist as the two of them pressed against each other.

Boone wanted to hear her gasp, and would reward himself with each one he drew out of her by undoing a button on her shirt. He would make her burn as brightly as he was currently, in this elevator. Six turned her head and said something, but Boone couldn’t hear her words over his breathing and the sounds he was conjuring in his own mind. 

“Are you ok honey?” A woman had approached the open elevator, waiting for them to step out. She snapped Boone out of his fevered imaginings and back into reality. Six looked down at her shirt, as if suddenly realizing it had blood on it. Boone’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head as she stripped out of the fabric, balling it up and throwing it behind her. Her grey tank top beneath clung to her chest as she took a deep breath. This was….not helping.

“I am better than ok lady.” Six pushed past her, heading out into the lobby. Boone trailed behind her, trying to calm the ache and desire that had settled in him. He wasn’t the only one watching as she stalked to the front desk to collect her gear. It was enough that the security guards didn’t ask how Boone had gotten his rifle in to the casino.

They exited the Tops back out to the Strip, the cacophony of noise disorienting Boone’s already raw senses. He was suddenly running into the back of Six, who was frozen staring at someone approaching them. The man was dressed in a rather clean black suit, brim of his hat was pulled low. He smirked at Six as she stared at him. 

“Vulpes Inculta. You son of a bitch.”

* * *   
Of course it was Vulpes. The second man she would like to kill. Six’s hand rested on her 10mm, images of a young man with foamy blue eyes floating up to the front of her mind. Beside her Boone had started reaching for his rifle.

“Still yourself profligates, lest you appear to be attacking a helpless man tending to business on the Strip.” 

“Helpless my ass. We would be doing the entire world a favor by taking you out of it.”

“Hmmm, perhaps. However, would the Strip’s robotic defenders see it as such?” Vulpes turned and stared pointedly at the Securitrons. Two of them had stopped their rounds and were staring at the three of them suspiciously. She turned to look at Boone, who jerked his head just once to the side. A definite no. 

“If you’re not interested in a fight, why are you here at all? How is everyone finding me here?” Vulpes reached into his suit jacket, pulling out a silver coin threaded through with leather similar to what she was using to hold the bottle cap Boone had given her. She let the coin hang between them, unwilling to touch it.

“I don’t want whatever that is. Cram it up your ass.”

“This is the Mark of Caesar. He has bestowed it upon you and requests your presence at Fortification Hill. This will guarantee you safe passage through our lands.” Six chewed her lip, thinking. Across from her, the Lucky 38 glimmered. All she wanted to do was leave this city behind, hunt down answers she needed. Something pulled at her through the selfish desires, a thought that this was the beginning of something much larger than it seemed. 

With a reluctant sigh, Six yanked the coin away from Vulpes, shoving it into the pocket of her jeans. As he let his arm drop, he winced slightly. A vicious sort of pleasure flowed into her, a reminder that she had shot him there. She hoped the ache never left him.

“Any crimes you may have perpetrated against the Legion are hereby forgiven. This mercy will not be extended a second time. And to answer your question, I am the greatest of his Frumentarii. It was not a challenge to find you. Nor is this my first visit to the Strip.”

“What the hell does your lunatic boss want with me?” Six watched as Vulpes clenched his jaw tightly at her irreverent words. 

“Go to him with the Mark, and you will understand. You can also keep it as something to remember me by.” Vulpes began backing away from the two of them, and within moments was sliding through the door to Freeside. Six turned to Boone.

“This has been a really weird, exhausting day.” Boone stepped closer, and rested his hand on her shoulder. His fingers whispered against her bare arm, sending tiny shocks racing across her skin.

“I know Six. We’ll go see what House wants and then leave. Check back in on Veronica at Goodsprings.” While she already knew that wasn’t how things would go, it calmed her to hear him say that. After a moment, Six turned back to the Lucky 38, mourning the loss of the steadying hand on her. 

* * *  
Six knew that the inside of the Lucky 38 could not have been much cooler, but it felt frigid as the air slid across her skin, leaving goosebumps in its wake. Victor had adamantly refused to let Boone inside with her, no matter how much she argued. Boone had reluctantly ceded, telling Six he would go get cleaned up. She knew what he meant.

The Securitrons watched her with their weapons trained at her feet, making the short walk to the elevator seem to drag on. She got in the elevator alone, Victor closing the door behind her. When she saw him outside of Goodsprings before, she had been comforted. Knowing he had been the one to pull her from the dirt and save her by bringing her body to Doc Mitchell. Now, as the doors slid closed, the sick feeling of fear curled itself around her. His smiling face was in the next Securitron, there as soon as the doors slid open. Six jerked at the sound of his cheerful voice.

“Welcome to the Penthouse pardner! Mr. House sure is excited to meet you!” Six’s eyes swept back and forth. Everything here was unsettlingly… clean. The furniture was so pristine Six ran her finger across the green fabric of a chair, just to be sure it was real. The air was cloying with strange floral scents, making her eyes water. 

Robots and Securitrons rolled about, one dusting and another polishing pristine glassware. One of the Securitrons had the face of a woman, but there were no humans anywhere. Six dropped her eyes away from the bizarre scene, turning to where Victor was wheeling back and forth at an opening covered in flaps of fabric. The makeshift divider was frayed and uneven, comforting Six in a strange way. A small bit of decay in this otherwise pristine place . 

The largest screen Six had ever laid eyes on was before her, an image of a man flickering slightly on it. Trimmed mustache, eyebrow cocked, and a slight smile stared down at her. After a second, the image disappeared and the words connection lost took its place. A voice echoed from unseen speakers around her. 

“This meeting has been a long time coming, hasn’t it? You’ve come a long ways, literally, and figuratively as well I suspect. I have to ask, now that you’ve reached your destination, what do you make of what you see?” 

“I think I prefer the wasteland actually. This feels like a stage.” Laughter echoed around, empty of any real mirth. 

“Of course it’s a stage my dear. The stage. Everyone here dreams they are important, that they’re the star. They don’t see how they are moved around as they are commanded, shuffled into place, acting their part. You and I, my dear, we are of a different stripe. We don’t have to dream that we’re important. We are. What we say is how it will be.” Six pinched the bridge of her nose, a quiet sigh escaping her.

“Look,I really don’t have the patience for this flowery bullshit. I’m just a courier. What the fuck do you want?” There was a surprised sniff, and the picture of the well-groomed man reappeared on the screen. 

“Well then. One of my employees stole something from me, and since you’ve been to the Tops already, I assume you have taken it back from Benny. Deliver it to me now, since you’re just a courier.” 

Six’s heart thundered in her chest, and she fought to keep her face blank. The extent of his knowledge frightened her for a moment, but it wasn’t flawless. He didn’t know where the chip was. He may not have even known Suit was dead. “If you knew Benny,” Six nearly gagged around the man’s name, “had the chip, why didn’t you just have your robots arrest Benny at the Tops?”

“Ha! Frontal assaults on casinos? Not good for business. In any case, Benny would have seen it coming. All he had to do was hold the chip up and point a pistol at it. Given your ability to solve problems, I’m assuming Benny can’t do much of anything anymore. Now, give me the chip, and I will pay you four times the delivery bonus stipulated in your contract.” Six’s mind was scrambling, feeling as though there was information she should know, should remember. It remained elusive, dancing at the edges of her memory only to slip away from her grasp as she neared it. She didn’t want House to have the chip though, that much she was certain of. A plan began to form, desperate and risky, but a plan.

“I don’t have the chip. Benny got away.” The connection lost message appeared again, blinking for a few moments. One of the Securitrons beside the screen rolled over to her, scanning a light up and down the length of her body. When House’s image reappeared, it kept rolling up into the top of screen. His voice was agitated, as if he was just barely keeping his anger contained.

“I take my business negotiations very seriously. I advise you to do the same. You are still under contract. Return to me when you have the Platinum Chip in your possession. Are we in clear understanding of each other?” Six nodded as she began to back away. A thought struck her suddenly, and she couldn’t stop herself from asking it out loud.

“I was originally contracted for a payment of two hundred fifty caps. It costs two thousand caps to get into the Strip. How the hell was I supposed to get into the Strip to make the delivery?”

“Are you telling me you didn’t use the passport included with your contract to gain entrance to the Strip?” 

“I had a…” Six ripped off her pack, digging all the way down to the bottom. She gripped the bloody envelope she had not touched since Doc Mitchell had handed it to her. Ripping it open, Six found herself staring at a thin piece of oxidized metal. A passport. House began laughing, and even though she knew she would hate herself later, Six ran. That awful laughter chased her all the way down to the casino floor.

* * *  
Boone and Yes Man had just finished cleaning up the last of the blood from Benny’s boy when Six came bursting through.

“Boone! And Yes Man. You said this elevator lead to Benny’s secret escape tunnel. Can we still access it?” 

“Why of course! Let me show you.” The three of them crammed into the elevator as it traveled downward. Six was a bundle of energy, unable to pace so she ran her fingers through her hair repeatedly instead. When the doors opened Six dashed through, not bothering to sweep the area. Boone sighed in annoyance and followed, clearing the space himself. Yes Man wheeled around the space slowly.

“Is this- is this a vault?” Six was poking around at some terminals, powering them up even as she looked about in wonder. The metal walls were a dead giveaway, gleaming a dark blue. Where there should have been hallways, there was uneven amounts of concrete blocking the way. Boone made sure the explosives set around the small area were not going to go off before standing beside Six.

“Sure is. This is one of the few parts of Vault twenty-one that wasn’t completely filled in with concrete!” 

“Can you monitor House’s transmissions from down here, or do you have to be in the main part of the Tops?”

“I can operate down here with minimal information delay.” 

“Fucking fantastic. Remember when you said that if your body is destroyed, you would simply hop into another? Can you choose a Securitron at a specific location, maybe even a specific unit?” 

“Yes, I can do that, although I don’t see why I would need to.” Six clapped her hands together in excitement.

“Boone, help me move these explosives.”

It took them the better part of two hours, and Boone moved crates of explosives several times over, “Actually, can you move it over here? The shaft would collapse better.” but Six was happy with their work. Some of the words had gone right over Boone’s head as Six and the robot conversed, but he understood the important parts. If Yes Man was discovered, he would send Six’s Pip-Boy a message, trigger the explosives, and travel to Goodsprings after using the escape tunnel. 

“Of course it will take me a bit of time to fix the Securitron I have in mind, but as soon as I do, you can just swap into it in case of emergency. Be careful down here, we’ll be back soon.” Boone had suggested they take the tunnel to leave, but Six insisted on heading back to Freeside. They still had the job to complete for the King, and she had some things to sell for supplies. 

When they got to Mick and Ralph’s, Six sold enough to restock them fully in ammunition, and went to look at clothing. Boone found a rifle sling that caught his interest, counting out what few caps he had. When Six came back over, she insisted on buying it for him. 

They slipped back into their roles, her easy teasing, his gruff answers. It felt comfortable, and Boone was able to pretend things between them hadn’t shifted. That is, until she held up a shirt to get his opinion. It was faded plaid, deep red at one time. Boone’s mouth went dry as he stared at the front of it.

“That’s a lot of buttons.”


	10. Questions and Answers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge thanks to The_Rogue_of_Dragonstone for being my beta for this chapter! Go read her stuff. She's fucking amazing. Also, the comments make my day. You guys rock! Anyway, enjoy!

The King’s mission was supposed to be a simple one. It was supposed to end with figuring out why an idiot bodyguard in Freeside was the most successful. Somehow, Boone found himself inside the Crimson Caravan’s compound. The jobs didn’t even seem to be separate anymore, simply flowing from one into the other. One endless list of tasks the entire Mojave had for them. Boone’s disposition had always been somber, and the last few days were wearing his patience down. And now they had the King’s dog tagging along as well.

While Boone’s mood had been slowly souring, Six’s had plummeted. She was currently stomping up the steps and slamming the screen door on the main office so hard one side dropped down of the hinge. She pushed past a woman whose red hair was tucked up under a hat.

“Who the fuck is Alice McLafferty?” The woman’s eyes widened and she immediately turned back to head up the steps.

“Oh there is no way in hell I am missing this.” A small smile quirked at the corner of his mouth as he listened to the sound of Six’s raised voice. He leaned up against the side of the building, watching the guards across from him begin to nervously palm the grips of their guns. Boone leveled an even glare at them, a silent warning.

He could hear the unmistakable sound of Six’s boots as she stomped back to the door, yelling as she went. 

“What part of I’m busy do you not understand? If you want something delivered to Camp McCarran, send one of the assholes you have standing outside doing nothing. It’s that direction, in case you were wondering.” The door swung open again, and down she came, dark blue hair swinging. Boone pushed off the wall, walking up to take his place just behind and to the left of her. The red-headed woman was right behind Six, in such a rush to keep up she bumped into Boone’s shoulder. 

“You really put McLafferty through the wringer back there. Look, I know you said you were busy. But how about a favor for a favor?” Six stopped and cocked an eyebrow at the woman.

“I don’t even know you, so what makes you think I need help?” 

“You learn to notice things when you hang on as long I have. Like two people packing an awful lot of ammo, and only a few guns. Yeah, I heard the jingling in your pack over your yelling. Either you guys hit a great sale, or need the ammo for a big show down. An extra gun never hurt anyone.”

Boone could see it on Six’s face already. She made a show of appearing to mull it over, sinking back into one hip as she looked at the woman. She was going to say yes. Grey eyes glanced over at him, a soft smile that she seemed to use only with him. Boone sighed as Six asked the woman’s name.

“Well Rose of Sharon Cassidy, I have the best shot this side of the Colorado with me, but let’s see what you can do.” Boone pulled his sunglasses down, arching an eyebrow slightly at her.

“Did you just imply there is someone on the other side of the Colorado better than me?”

* * *  
The NCR Correctional Facility was settled in an almost bowl-shaped part of the landscape, The jagged rocks created a natural barrier, making it almost impossible to climb down from any angle without being spotted. It was double fenced with barbed wire all along the top. The metal had the weathered look that nothing seemed to escape in the desert, but still stood completely solid. Five guard towers rose up behind the fence line, powerful search lights topping them. Each tower was manned by two snipers, and they were using hand signals to communicate with each other.

Six counted three buildings in addition to the plainly marked “Visitors Center” through her binoculars. An uncomfortable number of Powder Gangers milled around the yard. Outside of the compound were clear signs of attempted expansion left abandoned.

“Fuck. This is going to be difficult Boone.” He grunted in response, and it did nothing to bolster the flagging confidence in her chest. Dropping the binoculars back into her bag, she pinched her nose as she let out a frustrated breath. Maybe she should rethink this. Arcade would have a good idea for breaching the facility. And Veronica would probably be able to punch right through those walls with that ridiculous power fist of hers. 

A low chuckle escaped her as she imagined Veronica emerging, covered in dust and pulling small bits of rubble out of her hair. Six’s heart squeezed slightly, painfully. She missed her friend. This would not be put off anymore though. She needed to get the Sheriff out of there and to Primm. Please don’t be dead in there. 

“How many grenades do you have in there Six?” Boone’s voice startled Six from her thoughts. 

“Hang on… only twelve of them. And three flashbangs. I could make a few molotovs with the alcohol I know Cass has clinking around in her bag. Why, do you have an idea?” 

“Yeah, I might. Come on, let’s get back to the others and discuss it.” Boone stood, dusting himself off as Six did the same. He looked down at her for a moment, and she saw the ghost of a smile flit across his face. He seemed much more at ease now that they were back out in the wasteland. She even caught him feeding Rex some dried brahmin jerky that morning when he on watch. 

She trailed behind Boone for a change, taking the rare moment to just observe. Since the first day she met him, Boone had a quiet confidence. Watching the change she brought about in him during their stolen moments gave her a heady sense of power, even as it made her feel weak. Six ran her fingers across her lips absentmindedly, remembering the searing kiss she had placed in his palm. She had wanted to continue all the way up his arm, ending just beneath his ear. She wondered if he was sensitive there, wanted to find out. 

“Here you go dearie, you look like you need something to drink. Can’t have my favorite little one passing out on me!” Lily startled Six out of her thoughts, and she swallowed against the heat rising in her body. The quiver low in her belly refused to be pushed to the side. The supermutant handed her a bottle of purified water, and Six gulped it greedily. Cass stared at her for a moment, then looked over at Boone who was digging in a pack. Six turned her back against the woman’s gaze, hoping it wasn’t a mistake to bring her along.

Pulling out a piece of paper and a dull pencil, Boone began to sketch out the layout. Six knelt down to add in a few scraps of information to his words. Slowly, with input from everyone, their plan came together. Well, mostly everyone. Lily mostly ranted about Leo being excited to have someone to chop. 

Night approached slowly, almost as if it was hesitant to give them the cover they needed. Six gripped her silenced 10mm tightly as she ducked from an abandoned piece of sheet metal to a stack of concrete cinder blocks. Raul moved up to take her place under the sheet metal when she gave the all clear. The lights atop the guard towers swung back and forth in a systematic pattern. 

Six rushed up to the next area of cover, a pile of metal poles. She was nearly there when she tripped over something, falling to the ground with a loud “oof”. A cloud of sand and dust billowed up from where she landed. Horror flushed her system, triggering an adrenaline rush. The light twisted, heading in her direction. She crawled forward, no longer caring about the dust she was sending up into the air. She pulled herself in against the poles, tucking her feet just as soon as the light hit where she had been laying.

Two shots pierced the ground where she had just been. Six held her breath, waiting for the next one to pierce her. She heard a quiet dragging noise, from where Raul had just been. She waved her hands in shooing motion, unable to see past the unbearably bright halo of light in front of her, but hoping he could see. Stay where you are.

“What the fuck was that?”

“I don’t know, didn’t see anything except for dust. Radscorpion probably. They’ve been all over the last few nights.”

“Hmm, probably.” Six pulled in a silent gulp of air, her mind steeling itself against the panic beating in her skull. A second passed, and then another. The light began to swing away, off to her right.

“Check it out anyway.” Six gripped her 10mm, cursing her tattered boots and the bit of wire she could now see sticking up out the ground. A chunk of leather stuck to the copper end. When Six looked down she could see the side of her sock, pinky toe hanging out of the new rip in the side. Any day now, Lily.

As if her plea had been heard across the facility, a loud explosion sounded. All of the search lights whipped away from where Six and Raul were, focusing on the far side where another explosion went off. Six pushed up on slightly shaky arms, feeling a dry, leathery hand helping her stand.

“You good, Boss?” Six only nodded, pushing Raul in front of her. He pulled out two wire cutters, handing one to Six as the two of them began cutting through the first fence. They were directly between two of the guard towers, hopefully obscured in the darkness. The chaos continued as Lily kept up her firebombing at the front gate. Smoke was beginning to crawl their direction as Powder Gangers poured out of the buildings.

“We have to hurry, Lily is out there by herself. Three more grenades and she should be done. Ugh this would be so much easier if we all had Pip-Boys.”

“I wouldn’t be opposed to that Boss. Just for the record. Makes fixing things easier with diagrams at your wrist.” Six grunted at him, snipping through the chain links as fast as possible. The fence sprang apart at the lack of tension, creating an opening for Six and Raul to duck through. Another explosion at the front gate, accompanied by a man’s scream. The two began working on the second fence. 

“Where are they? I don’t see anything.” 

“Fire at anything that moves!” The final links were snipped open, just as the spotlights closest to them exploded in a shower of sparks, raining down glass and shards of metal. Boone and Cass were too far away for her to hear their gunshots, but she could picture the small smirk on Boone’s face as he nailed each shot. As they headed toward their first goal, two bodies fell from the top of the towers. She kept her eyes trained ahead.

Six ran up the side of one of the outbuildings, kneeling down to arm a few frag mines as Raul peered around the corner, shotgun in one hand. Powder Gangers were pouring out of the buildings, yelling wildly. Lily hadn’t thrown anymore grenades, and should be doubling back around to join her and Raul.

“Let me know when you see Lily.”

“Boss-” Raul paused to fire off his first shot at a Powder Ganger “- if Lily has a stealth boy, how am I supposed to see her?” 

“You’ll hear her.”

Six set her final mine, then tossed two of them in quick succession where the Powder Gangers were making their stand. Sure enough, the sound of Lily’s battle roar came just a few minutes later. Six couldn’t quite see where she was, so she stood up, waving her arms and calling her name as loudly as she dared over the noise of the confused yelling. There was a loud crack, and Six’s brain didn’t process what it was until after pain erupted in her right arm. 

A scream worked it’s way out of from behind her clenched teeth, and she cradled her arm to her chest. Trying to ignore the pain, Six sighted the man who had shot at her. Just as they locked eyes, a bullet pierced his head, blowing out the back of it. Realizing where her and Raul were now, Powder Gangers began firing at the side of the building.

Lily deactivated her stealth boy right in front of Six, scaring her into jumping right into Raul. She held up Six’s arm, inspecting it briefly before a look of rage took over her face. 

“Grandma’s little pumpkin! Leo is going to give you bad people such a hard chopping!” Lily charged off again, fully visible. Six cursed and shoved her gun at Raul. 

“Switch me, and keep those bastards off of her.” Raul’s shotgun was heavy in her hands, and it sagged slightly, her left arm not used to the weight. The ghoul gave her wound a quick once over, then nodded, running across to the other building, dropping men as he went. Six circled up around the other side of the building, toward the visitors center. 

There were several of the bastards in blue on either side of the building, using various piles of equipment as cover. Some of it even looked like it had been purposefully stacked to use as a defense. Lily was drawing plenty of attention to herself with all her yelling. Six tossed another mine, scattering the men. She fired the shotgun at one of the men who had given up cover behind cinderblocks. His leg exploded, and he fell completely out of cover. One more blast ended him before he even had a chance to scream.

The grenades had caught an entire pallet of wood on fire, and acrid smoke drew into her already aching lungs with each breath. There was a strange thumping noise over everything. Another blue bastard stood up, arm outstretched. Six raised the shotgun again, the recoil reverberating through her chest. 

Lily rammed her entire body into a pile of bricks, crashing straight through. Realizing they were losing too many men, the Powder Gangers began to break form. Some started running toward Lily, a suicidal charge. She decapitated two with a sweep of her sword. A few tried to escape through the visitors center. Flashes of red briefly flared in that direction, and the crack of a rifle.

The door to the visitors center slammed open, Boone and Cass stepping out with an unharmed Powder Ganger in front of them. Well, mostly unharmed. Blood streamed from a nose that was definitely broken. Boone was scowling, and Six ignored the way her pulse stumbled a bit as his eyes met hers. His scowl deepened as he saw her arm. Lily and Raul, both winded, flanked Six as she stalked toward the man.

“You, what’s your name?”

“None of your business, that’s what.” Cass stepped forward, reaching up and grabbing the man’s nose, squeezing.

“Aaaah! Ok! OK! Christ you fucking psychopaths! Hannigan! It’s Hannigan.”

“Where is Meyers being held?”

“Held? He sleeps in the administration if that’s what you mean. Be careful if you go in there lady. Eddie is a psycho who likes to play with his victims and Scrambler fucks people up like he’s a deathclaw. Although, I have to say you guys did kind of ruin this place so…” Six cocked an eyebrow at the man as he trailed off.

“Look, just make it quick, alright? I don’t want to be chopped up by the crazy supermutant broad.” 

“Boxcars mentioned you the last time I saw him, said you were alright.”

“Shit, that asshole is still kicking? Where is he at now?”

“He’s in Novac, and he’s not doing any kicking. If you head that way, I would lose the outfit. You’re less likely to get shot before you even see the dinosaur.” The man looked around at their group, shrugged, then stripped out of his clothes right there. He took off past Cass and Boone in his boxers and boots.

“If you even make it that far.” 

The administration building showed no signs of life as they approached it. Raul opened the door wide, and their group flooded in. Just ahead of them, on a single bunk, sat a man in a wide brimmed hat, with the word “Meyers” painted on the back of his jacket. Six stepped forward to speak to him when an inhuman yell sounded off to the side.  
A man with an eyepatch and mohawk charged them, screaming. Six could only stare at him in disbelief. After a second of watching the man get closer, Cass stepped forward and shot him. The man’s body landed against the wall, dead on impact. A bright crimson streak was left behind. Boone turned to her.

“Why the hell did you just stand there?”

“We just decimated their entire set up and he charged us Boone. All of us. With brass fucking knuckles. I was trying not to laugh.”

* * *  
They found Eddie the psycho passed out drunk upstairs. After moving the man into the cell with just some water, Six locked the door, pocketing the key. Meyers proved almost eager to have chance to bring law and order back into Primm. He accepted Six’s offer after a few moments of deliberation.

“Should we clean up?” Cass asked Boone, looking around at the chaos. They made sure the fire was put out, picked clean the supplies the Powder Gangers had. Six had wanted to strike out for Primm immediately, nearly buzzing with energy. Boone had to point out everyone else’s flagging strength to get her to agree to rest until dawn. 

“We are so close Boone. I just have to get him there and then I can get somewhere. I wonder what my name is. Judith? Rebecca? I think I remember the name Addie from somewhere, fuck I hope it’s not Addie. Ouch!” Boone had been wiping off the bullet graze, and Six jerked a bit.

“Sorry,” he muttered, patting gently instead. Six waved his concern away, pinching the bridge of her nose in concentration. 

“I’m sure whatever name you have will fit, and is beautiful.” Six’s eyes jerked to his at that, color flushing her entire face and neck. Boone finished tying off the bandage, unnecessarily smoothing it again with his fingers. Her skin heated beneath his touch, warming Boone’s fingers as that prickle of energy coursed through him. A yawn escaped Six, and she smiled at Boone sheepishly. The corner of his mouth twitched up in response. 

“Maybe a nap wouldn’t hurt anyone. Oh, check this out.” Six whistled once, and ED-E came flying over to her. Six reached up, opening a panel, hands disappearing into the metal hull. After moving around wires, she checked something on her Pip-Boy. Satisfied, she shut the panel again. 

“ED-E, activate sentry mode.” The bot did a strange motion, one almost like it straightened. Then it rose a bit more into the air, rotating slowly, letting out a quiet string of beeps. 

“There, now we can all sleep.” Boone almost jerked back in surprise as Six settled her head on his shoulder. He caught himself, instead going still, his heart thudding away in his chest. After a minute her breathing evened, tickling the side of his neck when she turned her head slightly. Boone related slowly, letting more of Six sink into him. This felt… good. She was warm, and the left side of his body thrummed with energy where she was pressed against him. He couldn’t stop himself from tucking her hair behind her ear with his right arm. 

“I’ll take watch. Not sure I trust a bot to watch over everyone.” Boone jerked up to see Cass kneeling across from them. He wasn’t sure about her, not entirely. The way she mistrusted ED-E and handled her rifle were starting to ease some worries though. He grunted his response, then gently rested his head on top of Six’s.

* * *  
As soon as the rollercoaster from Primm was visible, Six’s heart pounded even harder than it had been. It had been put through the wringer this morning already. Waking up against Boone, realizing his arm had curled around her tightly, almost protectively. She shivered at the memory, and stole a glance at Boone.

He was walking with his normal gait, sunglasses in place. She was sure he saw her when his cheeks turned a ruddy color. He couldn’t blame that on the heat, as the sun was still fairly low in the sky. Six smirked before turning back to Primm. So close.

At the edge of town, Meyers focused on the NCR tents, eyes narrowing. Six couldn’t stop herself from running up the main strip into town. She banged on the door to the Mojave Express office. After a minute of no response, she banged even harder. Boone came up beside her, gently pushing her hand back down to her side. Her skin hummed. 

“They may still be asleep Six. It’s early.” The door jerked open, and Johnson Nash had a pump action shot gun trained on them, blinking blearily. 

“Now just who the hell- oh, Courier Six. I thought you had forgotten about us.” Six couldn’t stop the ridiculous grin that was currently splitting her face. 

“I brought you a sheriff! Johnson Nash- and good morning Ruby. Meet- wait, I don’t know your first name.”

“Fred.”

“Fred Meyers! He has agreed to take on the duties of being sheriff to Primm!” Six raised her arms like she was a salesman showcasing product. Behind her, Meyers shifted uncomfortably.

“There’s still the terms of pay and the like to discuss.” Meyers spoke in a gruff voice, and Six realized she hadn’t paid much attention to him at all. She suddenly hoped she wasn’t making a poor decision. Nash and Johnson studied each other for a moment before Nash extended his hand. They shook, and Nash told Meyers he would see him in the casino to discuss specifics. Six clapped her hands in excitement. 

Nash excused himself to get dressed, then shut the door. For a moment, the group all stared at each other, unsure of what to do now. Cass broke the awkward silence. 

“Is there whiskey in that casino?”

“Come on, I’ll buy a round.”

The casino was a bit cleaner and brighter than the last time Six had been inside. Raul instantly drifted to the gambling machines, Lily following him. ED-E hovered over to Primm Slim, and Rex had taken to following Boone. Boone followed Six over to the counter in the corner, sitting on a stool. Cass was right behind. Meyers folded his arms and waited by the door. 

Ruby beat Johnson into the casino, carrying a tray of rad scorpion venom casserole. She frowned slightly when Six ordered a round of whiskey, no doubt judging for drinking so early. Six sheepishly handed her shot to Cass, who wasted no time knocking it back. The casserole tasted even better than she remembered, the smoky flavor coating her tongue. Boone seemed to be enjoying his portion too. 

Six was so busy shoveling food into her mouth- how was she so hungry?- she didn’t notice Johnson and Meyers walking into the side office until Boone nudged her with his arm. 

“The new sheriff doesn’t look particularly pleased.” Six nodded her agreement, swallowing hard around the food that suddenly stuck to her throat. Ruby tried to engage the two of them in small talk, which Boone gave little response to. Six couldn’t speak, and pushed her unfinished plate away. Her eyes never left the door.

After almost twenty minutes, Johnson emerged alone. He met Six’s gaze and gave her a sad little smile. Six’s stomach plummeted to the floor. Something was wrong. The man moved to stand beside her, and Six had to swivel her chair to look up at him. 

“Hey young lady. I’m sure you remember the terms of our deal.” Six swallowed again, her voice coming out entirely too quiet.

“I remember.”

“Well, can’t quite come to terms. It seems here Mr. Meyers is in need of an official pardon from the NCR in order to operate without fear of reproach.” Six closed her eyes, cursing under her breath. Of fucking course. It had been too easy. The casserole was sitting oddly in her stomach now. 

“But you came through on your end, and I am going to on mine.” Johnson pulled a crumpled envelope from his back pocket, smoothed it out just a bit, and then handed it to her. Six stared at him, eyes taking in all of his features. Bushy eyebrows, skin the color of shadowed earth, the creases at his eyes. She never wanted to forget the man who gave her back the first piece of herself.

Six launched herself at Johnson, tears brimming in her eyes. She pressed a kiss to his weathered cheek, whispering thank you. The she turned and ran for the doors, shoving past Meyers on her way. She heard Boone call out her name. No, Six wasn’t her name. Her name was in the tattered mess of paper clutched to her chest. Bursting outside, Six dashed over to the column that she had hidden behind the first time she was in Primm. 

She slid down, column at her back, willing her heaving chest to calm. Shaking fingers smoothed out the envelope, a strange mix of excitement and apprehension swirling inside. After one last pause, Six ripped the envelope open. It was a contract, an agreement between the Mojave Express and- Six gripped the edges of the paper, reading the name over and over. Her mind warned her body the paper was delicate, it could tear, but she couldn’t relax her fingers. 

Vaguely aware of noises behind her, she ignored them. The sound of footsteps slowly became louder. Someone knelt down in front of her, and she managed to tear her eyes away from the page. The red beret was slightly off, as if he had tugged at it in frustration. He reached up and removed his sunglasses, and Six was torn between reading her name one more time or getting lost in the pale green of his eyes. He seemed to be waiting, and yet she couldn’t make her mouth work. After a few moments, he extended his hand toward her. 

“Hello, I’m Craig Boone.” He gave her an actual smile, still closed mouth, but a smile nonetheless. 

“Hello Boone, my name is Evelyn Harper.”

* * *

Evelyn Harper. The name bounced around his mind. He had been right, it was beautiful just like her. She reached toward his outstretched hand. It was meant to be a simple gesture, to help her up. Instead his fingers slowly wrapped around her wrist, one by one. A pleasant heat emanated from where his skin touched hers. Excitement drummed inside of him, his mind burning in the most tantalizing way.  
Boone stood, and tugged slightly harder than he meant to, and Evelyn stumbled up into his chest. She laughed quietly, but didn’t pull away. 

Instead, she pushed her body just barely forward, pressing against him lightly. Both of them began to breathe a bit harder. Boone’s fingers refused to stop at her wrist now, slowly winding their way up her bare arm. A shudder passed through her, followed by the quietest moan. Boone’s fingers gripped her shoulders tightly, and he stepped forward, invading her space.

She was completely against the column, nowhere else to go. Boone stared at her lips, the soft curves tantalizing. Slowly, he bent his forehead to touch hers. They stood like that, the charge between them building. Before this, he had always closed his eyes to kiss someone. Now he couldn’t stand to miss anything. 

Apparently tired of waiting, she laced her fingers together behind his neck, and pulled his mouth to hers. The most glorious ache began where their lips met, flowing through his chest and straight to his groin. Her tongue darted out, teasing gently against his lips. When Boone opened his mouth slightly in invitation, Evelyn both pushed forward with her body, and pulled his face closer still. 

Boone felt like he was being consumed. And he was just fine with that. He pushed back against her this time, pressing her against the column once more. Evelyn’s feet left the ground, just by an inch, but it encouraged her to wrap her legs around his waist. The feeling of her heat there, pressed against his cock as she arched under his mouth, his hands. It was staggering, and he wanted more. 

He groaned into her mouth, dragging his lips away with effort, just to press searing kisses under her jaw. He traveled slowly down her neck in a line, ever the marksman. Her breath gasped in his ear, and the sound left him dazed, wanting to hear nothing else for the rest of his life. He nipped sharply where her neck met her shoulder. Evelyn gave a small sound of shock at that. Worried he had gone too far, Boone started to pull back. 

“Don’t even think about it.” She chased his mouth again, biting hard on his bottom lip. He snapped his hips forward, thrusting himself against her. He could bury himself in her body and be content to stay there. His hands had just moved to palm her breasts when Six stopped him. 

“As much as I would like to continue, perhaps out in full view of everyone in Primm is not the best place. Maybe we can continue this tonight, when we make camp? I could have ED-E take watch for a bit and sneak off with you.” Boone dropped his head on her chest, willing his arousal back into place. His cock stubbornly refused to listen. 

“Yeah, probably right.” She smiled at him then, a brilliant smile, and Boone helped her slide gently back to the ground. She pressed one more kiss to him, close mouthed and chaste, but he twitched with want anyway. He was going to have to go take care of this somewhere else. 

“You ok?” Concern was in her eyes, but he didn’t want to see that on her face. He wanted to see the wide-eyed desire and the flush of her skin. Wanted to hear her moan his name.

“Fine. Just need a minute to…settle.” 

“Come back in when you’re ready. I’m going to smooth things with Meyers and we’ll head out. I’ll swing by Novac and check on things, then we’ll get Veronica and Arcade. I have something brewing.” She paused to adjust her shirt, winked at him, then pulled the door open to the casino. Novac…

There was something there he wanted. Something he needed. The thought of going back worried him, but the crippling fear had calmed into something quieter. Something controllable. And he needed to get something, for her.


End file.
